Custom Robo: Ultimatum
by RPMercenary
Summary: The prototype of the newest of the Ray Custom Robo Models, intended to be a police weapon, is stolen, and the Bounty Hunters are called on to bring it back. Longest and oldest Custom Robo Fanfic here, first of a series. Earlier chapters are being revised and redone.
1. Intro and Chapter 1: Security Cutoff

**((At the beginning of each chapter, I will post a character profile or other informational snippet to provide reference for all readers, whether they have played Custom Robo for Nintendo Gamecube or not. This is a new addition of back-editing, and as such, not every chapter has one at this time. This first one is longer than will be normal so as to set the context, especially for those new to the Custom Robo universe.))**

Name: Rahu

Age: Unknown for sure, at least 200+ years, possibly much older

Biography: Rahu is considered to be the very first true Custom Robo. Its origins are unknown, but it was a being that knew only violence and destruction. The world was as it is now, perhaps a little more advanced, and Rahu simply came into being and began destroying everything. It was unseeable, untraceable, and indestructible, and as such no weapon, military, or tactic could stop its rampage as it destroyed the world a piece at a time. After destroying everything within its ability to reach, it sought new methods to destroy what was left, and it decided to take a physical form. To this end, it connected itself to a children's toy called a Custom Robo, a type of action figure whose weapons and armor could be interchanged and customized. Its consciousness merged with the robotics, they became one, and Rahu was trapped in a physical form. Though the toy was non-lethal at first, Rahu mutated it and turned it into a new form of killing machine, both organic and robotic in one, and continued his rampage.

The remaining scientists and tacticians of the world saw this as an opportunity, and began creating a new version of Custom Robos not as toys, but as personalized weapons to combat Rahu. A person's mind could now be merged with the robo, a process called "diving", and the Robo came under their mental command. The people that could control these Robos were called robo "Commanders", and led the charge against Rahu. Rahu was beaten time and again, but never defeated. Every time it lost, it just retreated into hibernation and came back stronger. It learned, adapted, and evolved, again becoming unstoppable eventually.

A new plan had to be formed, and scientists had another breakthrough that could be used to reverse Rahu's learning process through memory erasure. Once a memory erasure device had been completed, the strongest commanders in the world led one final attack on Rahu, and after defeating it, they activated the device, wiping Rahu's memory, and it vanished.

The war had been won, but so much was lost. The world was left in post-apocalyptic ruin and fewer than a hundred surviving humans remained. Nature as a whole was obliterated. The leaders of what left of humanity came up with a plan. They had a city built around all of the technology they had miraculously retained, and enclosed it in an enormous dome, and sealed it off from the destroyed world outside. There were no plants, so trees, grass, and bushes were made of synthetic materials. Carbon dioxide was recycled into oxygen artificially, thanks to the new technologies that had emerged in the time of necessity. The last step for completing this project was to use the memory erasure device on the people, and keep them from knowing anything that had happened, or what lay outside the dome.

At least, that was the plan...

Life went on in the dome, its inhabitants ignorant of Rahu, the origins of the dome, or of anything that existed outside of it. To them, there was nothing outside the dome. It was all that existed. Custom Robos were now the primary tools of any dispute, be it friendly competition or police vs criminal. With the memory erasure, there was so much, though that remained a mystery about Custom Robos, how they worked, and how they came into being. To study them, there was a research facility built in the dome specifically for studying and advancing robo technology.

There was no longer physical violence or murder; everything was handled through Robo battles. Safeties were installed for the cases of friendly battles, but they could be deactivated if one's opponent needed to be rendered unconscious. As robo-related crimes increased and the police force was spread too thin, the profession of bounty hunting came into play. Bounty hunters were typically not as skilled as police officers, but there were many more of them. A semi-friendly rivalry formed between the Police and Bounty Hunters, but each was important for keeping crime at bay.

And then Rahu came back. It was as sudden as before, but it was still in its physical form, mutated to look like a twisted combination of veins and wires, forming a demonic humanoid shape. It was powerful enough that anyone who fought it in a Robo battle and lost was killed, rather than knocked out temporarily. And unfortunately, the memory erasure device had been lost. It was in this time that three powerful bounty hunters emerged that could beat it together, but had no idea what they were facing or how to truly defeat it. They were tested, trained, and finally brought into the circle of robo commanders that knew the truth, which was shared with them confidentially.

There was also a splinter group from this circle that felt it was wrong for the truth to be withheld from the people like this, and they set out with the goal of letting the world know and opening the dome. They were hence branded as criminals, but when the time came their true colors showed, and instead of taking the chance to destroy Rahu, they attempted to seize control of it for their own benefit. Rahu proved uncontrollable, and escaped again.

The memory erasure device was rediscovered, though any research for creating a new one had long since been lost, and the three commanders set out to finally take Rahu down. After a long, grueling, and hard-fought battle, Rahu was weakened, and the memory erasure device again used, and Rahu again vanished.

In the days after, the truth was indeed exposed to the people. Everyone learned what lay outside the dome, all about Rahu, and the origins of Custom Robos. Robo commander training was then offered publicly to everyone so that if Rahu ever returned again, everyone would have a robo, and they would be ready. The memory erasure device became the primary tool of criminal rehabilitation. Criminals who were captured had their memory erased, a new one created for them, and they were reintroduced to society rather than taking up space in costly prisons.

Over one hundred years have passed since then.

* * *

-Begin - Custom Robo: Ultimatum-

Introduction

Many years have since passed since the fall of Rahu and the revelation of the world to the remainder of its inhabitants. The world has long since begun to be re-inhabited by humanity, but with all the space that humanity has newly been provided for expansion, the instability of justice and crime has continually grown worse. Police forces continue to crumble under the ever-multiplying crime syndicates, and reliance has proportionally increased on the time-honored peace keepers, the bounty hunters.

Though Custom Robo science has improved significantly to aid the police and public in its constant struggle against crime, for every technological advance given to citizens for their own protection, crime advances equally and simultaneously. Nonetheless, scientists continue to be easily spurred on by numerous breakthroughs in their Robo studies and designs, opening up thousands of new Robo customization options, and none have thus far been more impressive than their newest Custom Robo design, the Ray UM: Ultimatum.

Only one Ultimatum has been made, and no others will ever be created. Its sole purpose of creation is to give the police an upper hand against crime. With only one in existence and in the hands of the police force, enemies of justice will not be able to match the extreme power that the Ultimatum brings to the battlefield, and the outrageous crime level will be brought down significantly.

At least, that was the plan...

Chapter 1: Security Cut-Off

Upon first glance, one would never guess that the enormous Custom Robo science facility that lay before them was once the residence dome of all life remaining on the planet. After the second major defeat of the menace, Rahu, almost all of the dome's occupants moved out of the dome, which had been the whole world to them up to that point in time. Though at first seeming distasteful, the barren, destroyed lands of the once thriving and green earth actually provided an excellent foundation for new dome colonies, each of which more or less resembled the original. Each one that moved out had their own good reason for doing so, and eventually, the only remaining occupants of the dome were a few members of the police forse and the employees of the Custom Robo research lab.

Realizing the circumstance, that the dome had no more use than as a science facility, it was added on to and converted into the primary Robo research lab for the entire planet, as its size was rivaled only by entire new residence colonies. The former police station became the security wing for the compound. The lab became responsible for many of the greatest technological advances in Robo battling and customization of the time, including the Ray UM: Ultimatum.

The Ultimatum was intended to be kept secret from the public until it was given to and employed by a selected member of the planetary police force, but the night before it was to be presented, something went dreadfully wrong.

The Ultimatum's containment vault was under heavy guard. There were four Class-A robo commanders on static guard duty at all times, and at least a dozen more patrolling the hallways. The vault itself was electromagnetically sealed and armed with motion detectors, trip lasers, surveillance cameras, and floor-mounted pressure sensors. Security was as tight as it had ever been. Several hours before the dome's artificial sun was set to rise, the lights near the vault and all rooms and hallways for a hundred feet in all directions went dark. The lights had been dim in the first place, but the guards were not adapted to total darkness. There would typically be emergency lightning of some sort on battery power, and the vault itself had it's own backup power source isolated on a closed circuit, but there was nothing. No power, and no backups were activated. None of the guards could see anything.

The error was immediately detected in the security station, and everyone was suddenly on high alert. The surveillance cameras were out, so they were as blind as the guards. The security director had been watching the screens when everything suddenly went out, "What just happened?"

One of the security officers monitoring the screens tapped a few commands on his keyboard, but the problem wasn't being fixed, "No idea, sir, everything just went dark. Cameras aren't responding."

"All stations report. I need to know what's going on down there" the director demanded.

All the security station workers frantically got to work assessing the situation. There was lots of chatter as they communicated. One of them checked the facility-wide power grid and reported his findings, "Sir the power grid shows an outage in a 100-foot radius around the vault. It looks too perfect to be an accident."

The director came over to check the screen, "Are the backup systems online?"

"No sir, they didn't come on. There is no power down there at all."

The director barked to the communications officer, "Get the vault point man on the radio now."

The officer shook his head, "No good sir. I can't raise anyone in the dark zone. The radios must be out too."

"Put the facility on full alert. All available security personnel converge on the vault, and make sure they bring flashlights. Initiate the facility lockdown sequence."

The communications officer began conveying orders through the radio to anyone he could reach. One of the officers at another station reported, "Sir, the automatic lockdown isn't responding!"

The director came over and checked over his shoulder, "What?"

The officer tapped at his keyboard a bit, but nothing happened on his screen, "I put in the lockdown command and my whole system froze up. We tested it just yesterday and it worked just fine!" He tapped furiously on his keyboard, but to no avail, then slammed both fists on it, "Dang it, there's too many things going wrong!"

The director grabbed part of his upper sleeve, "Hey, hey, calm down! Get ahold of yourself. Is there another way to close the heavy security doors at the facility entrances?"

The officer was shaking with frustration, and the chatter throughout the room was not helping him focus, but he tried, wiping some sweat from his forehead "Uh, uh... There's, um... there's a-a manual control for each of the facility entrances. But they each take a few minutes to close and are scattered around the perimeter. And the proper sequence for closing each of the doors is different and they are in my computer, so i-it's useless as long as it's not working."

The director loosened his grip, "Those sequences are usually input remotely from here, right?"

The officer nodded, taking a breath, "Yes, yes sir."

"And you put them in yesterday during the test?"

He nodded again, "I did."

"We all know you for your memory, can you remember them?"

The officer gave a small, unsure shrug, still shaking, "There's twelve doors each with a different sequence, I-... I don't know, maybe."

The director turned his head to shout to the still chattering room, "Hey, everyone quiet a moment!" The room fell silent aside from some keyboard tapping. The director looked the officer in the eye, "I need a 'Yes' or a 'No". Can you get this facility locked down?"

The officer looked at his frozen computer screen, then back at the director, calming his breathing a bit, "Yes sir. I think so."

The director nodded and took a two-way radio, speaking into it, "Perimeter guards, all perimeter guards, go to channel four for instructions. All perimeter guards to channel four." He then handed it to the officer, "Find a quiet room if it helps, and get those doors closed."

He nodded, taking the radio, "Yes sir," and moved off to find somewhere where he could concentrate.

The director went back to the communications officer, "Get everyone with a radio to converge on the vault now! If there is an intruder down there, I want to either stop them from getting to it, or box them in.

In the chamber where the Ultimatum was being held, the heavy door security door was forced open, but with little real effort, as the locks were electronic and automatically cut off with the loss of power. Just outside the door, the four stationary guards were unconscious on the floor, while down the hallway in every direction, all the patrolling guards were barely conscious or completely knocked out as well. Through the door stepped several identically dressed figures, obviously not research staff or security guards. Rather, they wore dark navy-blue suits with lighter blue stripes running down the legs and diagonally across the chest. They each sported a yellow wristband on their left wrist, a matching yellow letter R over their heart, and, of course, a Robo cube attached to a blue belt at the hip. They each had night vision masks on their faces to allow them to see, even in the total darkness.

Two of them pushed the door the rest of the way open as two more entered and made sure everything was turned off and inoperative. They unplugged security cameras and disabled laser devices in case the power came back on. After the security was disabled, one more individual entered, who was much more muscular than the ones already in the room. He stood head and shoulders taller than the others, but not many more of his features could be seen due to the night vision mask, not to mention the darkness. His uniform was the same, except for the wristband. It was bright red instead of the yellow that the others wore.

The four with yellow bands stood their ground while the one in red approached the center of the room. The Ultimatum was in its cube form on a stand, protected by a glass case. He smirked as he examined it, and was well aware of what he was about to do.

One of the yellow bands spoke up "Strike, sir, you'd better hurry! More security is going to be here any minute!"

Strike, the one with the red band, grinned evilly under his mask, not taking his eyes off the Ultimatum. "Let them come!" And with that, he thrust his gloved fist through the glass case, shattering it all over the floor. He removed the cube from the stand, lifted his night vision mask, and held the cube up to his eyes, at the same time pressing the eye scan button, registering himself as its one and only commander.

As soon as the scan was complete, three security guards came running down the hall with flashlights. "Sir! Security's here!" called a yellow band who was watching the hallway.

Strike turned to face the door. "Inside!" He commanded the two yellows at the door. They obeyed without question, fleeing into the vault and standing behind their superior.

The guards appeared at the door and one commanded to Strike, "Drop that cube!" Strike looked at them blankly, no expression visible through his mask as he just stared them down. The guard in the middle took his robo cube off his belt. "I said drop it."

Strike took one step forward, but the guards were not fazed and stood their ground. Strike found himself looking slightly down at them, and held up the cube, speaking patiently, "You have no idea of the power you are meddling with, do you?" He took his mask off, revealing a black-haired head and a strong face with a large scar diagonally across it. "Allow me to show you just exactly what you have been guarding. And what you have now allowed to be unleashed." He activated the cube, merging his mind to it as it glowed red. All three guards did the same, and dove into their robos. All four robos linked in Strike's self-generated holoseum, and the battle began.


	2. Chapter 2: Illegal Beta Test

Data File: Holoseum

Holoseums are virtual dueling arenas where robo battles take place. Connecting one's mind to a robo and deploying it in a holoseum is a process called "diving". Robos are stored as programs in a data cube that the commander will keep with themselves at all times, and when a person dives into their robo, they have complete control over their robo in the holoseum as if they themselves were the robo. Robos first appear in the holoseum as a cube while their commander dives in. Once the dive is complete, the robo takes full form in the holoseum. A robo in cube form is vulnerable to attacks, so a commander that can complete their connection faster will have an advantage at the start. Dive times usually vary randomly, but can be affected by mental capacity, varying concentration levels, and distractions. Everyone has good dives and bad ones, as they say.

Battles can take place on holoseum decks, which are electronic tables set up for viewing battles in progress, or in holoseums generated by one of the robo commanders participating in the battle. Not everyone can generate a personal holoseum. The ability or inability is not related to any particular attribute like skill, willpower, or intelligence. Some people can, some people can't, and that is just the way it is. This may indicate that the ability or lack thereof is genetic, but there have been no conclusive studies.

Each holoseum deck is unique, and only programming from the outside between battles can change a holoseum deck's generated arena. Self-generated holoseums change over time depending on the person of origin, and are formed based on memories, experiences, and personality. Change in a self-generated holoseum only takes place over a very long period of time.

Holoseums of any type can incorporate moving platforms or objects, walls either breakable or indestructible, and hazard traps. Moving parts and walls of all kinds are common in holoseums, while hazard traps are less common. The is almost no limit to what can be included in a holoseum or programmed into one.

Before virtual holoseums, robos and their arenas were physical rather than digital. The conversion from physical to digital improved safety for the robos and the minds of their commanders, as well as opened much greater potential for customization of the robos, weapons, and arenas. Virtual robos also do not risk running out of ammunition for any of their weapons.

* * *

Chapter 2: Illegal Beta Test

From the moment the cubes were activated in Strike's holoseum, the guards were baffled. The holoseum was larger than any they had seen before. It stretched as far as they could see, and even had a horizon. The terrain greatly resembled world outside the domes, appearing to be ruins of a city that was long since destroyed. In all directions though, they could not see Strike's Ultimatum robo anywhere. Without even speaking a word, they all moved quickly towards each other, ending up back-to back facing out in three directions.

The three guards had worked together for a long time and were accustomed to battling cooperatively with each other. One guard had a blue Strike Vanisher - Halberd, and rather than the customary bomb and gun setup used by most robos, he had a gun in each hand: a robo Shotgun and a Stun weapon. His robo's vanish dash allowed him to close small gaps quickly, use his weapons at very close range, and dash back out before the enemy could recover and retaliate. His weapons were designed to stun or knock down his targets while dealing heavy damage in quick bursts. The "Caboose" pod launcher allowed him to drop two explosive pods in the wake of his retreats to keep any opponents from retaliating in time.

*****Customization:

Shotgun (Gun): Fires three heavy bolts in a flat fan pattern that dissipate beyond short range. Designed for very close range attacks and has a slow refire rate, but deals heavy damage and has a high knockdown rating.

Stun (Gun): Releases a jolt of energy that is capable of disabling enemy robotics for a short time. Only usable with direct contact with an enemy robo, but has a very high refire rate and disabling power.

Caboose-C (Pod): Launches up to two pods opposite the direction of movement. Pods move slowly towards opponent and knock them slowly upward upon detonation. Best used when running away from a pursuing enemy.

The second guard was the tank of the group. He used a Metal Grappler - Metal Ape robo that was equipped with a Wall bomb and a heavy relatively new gun design dubbed the "Suppressor". His job was to keep the enemy under heavy fire. Between the Wall bomb to cut off ground movement and Float pods on his back to keep them from jumping, he could keep a single target from moving just about anywhere while he laid out continuous heavy fire to either deal direct damage or further discourage them from moving.

*****Customization:

Suppressor (Gun): Fires three independent streams of energy bolts at up to three targets. Streams will automatically direct at their targets, but individual bolts have no homing ability. Bolts that barely miss will slightly reduce the target's accuracy for a short time.

Wall (Bomb): Fires a single bomb in a straight line that detonates on the ground. Creates a lingering pillar of energy that will damage and knock back any robo that runs into it. Fire in front of opponents to stop their movement.

Floating (Pod): Deploys up to two pods that move at moderate speed and hover directly above the enemy. Pods will only detonate if the enemy jumps into them. Use to keep a jumping enemy grounded.

The third guard rounded off the team with long range and multiple target weapons. He used a Lightning Sky - Defender robo, which allowed him to make long, speedy bursts away from a charging enemy and maintain distance from any danger. He was equipped with a Sniper gun in one hand and a Delta bomb in the other. He kept a Seeker pod on his back to send pods after multiple opponents or all at one target.

*****Customization:

Sniper (Gun): Fires a single, fast shot at a target. The shot follows a straight path and does not home, but moves fast, deals high damage, and has moderate knockdown power. Best used against opponents that like to keep far away. Damage is proportional to distance.

Delta (Bomb): Launches three bombs that spread out around the target. Explosions are medium size and deploy quickly. Best used against multiple opponents or a single target that moves around a lot.

Seeker-G (Pod): Deploys up to three floating pods that move towards the nearest enemy. Pods move faster as they gets closer to their target. Knocks opponents directly upward. Spread around the holoseum to box opponents in.

All three remained with their backs to each other, watching in all directions with their weapons pointed outwards. After a few moments of wary silence, the Metal Ape whispered to the others, "Nothing my way. Anyone see him?"

The Halberd continued scanning his area, also unable to see anything, "Negative, nothing. This place is so huge, he could have deployed a mile away."

The three of them were on what looked like it had once been a long city street with old, broken buildings on either side. Rather than a black expanse usually seen above the holoseum, there were dark brown clouds filling the sky. The ground was a similar brown color, as were the buildings, some of which were only framework skeletons while others were somewhat intact but looked as though they could collapse any moment.

The Defender deployed a single Seeker pod above them, but it just hovered, searching for a target without finding one. "He must be out of range. My pod isn't picking up anything. I'll get to higher ground and see if I can spot any sign of him." He hopped up in the air and used his robo's prolonged air dash to gain even more height, managing to reach the fourth floor of a building that was roughly intact, sans one wall on the street side.

The Metal Ape and Halberd remained at street level keeping their eyes in either direction, but there was no movement save for some brown debris floating on a faint wind. The Halberd said in a hushed tone over his shoulder, "This is freaking me out, man. Where is he?"

The Metal Ape glanced up at the Defender, who also could not see anything, and said back in an equally quiet voice, "Stay focused. He's out there." There was a lingering eerie silence that none of them was accustomed to in a robo battle.

After a while of scanning, the Defender said loud enough to be heard below, "Still not seeing anything." None of them noticed when the seeker pod that was still hovering about ten feet off the ground turned. It slowly drifted to the side of the street and stopped when its nose tapped against a solid wall of a building. So empty was the silence that the tiny clinking sound got their attention. The Defender pointed his weapons, though he still could not see over the wall even from his elevated position. The Halberd and Metal Ape also had their weapons pointed, ready to fire should anything come through the wall.

There was a sudden loud thud and the wall shook. The Metal Ape and Halberd flinched with a sudden adrenaline rush. The Defender pointed his weapon as well, and after only a short pause said quietly down towards the street, "Get back..." There was another moment of silence, and he repeated louder, "Get back!" just as the wall fell forcibly into the street amidst a sudden cloud of dust.

The Halberd was fast enough to vanish dash away from the falling wall before it could cause him any harm. The Metal Ape, however, knew he was too slow and could only put his hands up to stop the fall, his guns automatically retracting back onto his arms. The robo's strength was a highly redeeming factor to its speed, and though it caused him some strain, he was able to stop the wall from crushing him. The wall broke on either side around him, and he tossed the remaining slab in his hands to the side.

Immediately following, the Metal Ape was knocked directly back across the street and through a crumbly wall on the opposite side by something still obscured by the cloud of dust. As the cloud cleared, however, the Ultimatum robo came clearly into view. It was taller than a normal robo, roughly human-shaped like most Shining Fighter models, and sported shiny robotic armor of red, blue, green, and white. The upper armor was mostly focused into the chestpiece, which thickened at the sternum and flared out above the shoulders. It had evenly thick modular armor on its arms and legs, and heavy linked silvery armor plating around its midsection and all of its joints. The headpiece fashioned acute angles in multiple places, while the plating itself contoured a slightly sunken faceplate that housed the robo's ocular receptors, which look like eyes on most robos. To put it in a single sentence, it had a Shining Fighter appearance, but was easily taller and more heavily armored. It had no weapons in its hands, but overall looked very tough and elegantly designed.

Fortunately, the Metal Ape had heavy armor too, as was typical for Metal Grapplers. He sustained the knockback well, though was surprised at the force that had been enough to knock him off his feet. As he recovered, the Defender opened fire from his advantageous height with his Sniper gun and Delta bombs. He also deployed several Seeker pods that began a gradual descent to the ground, gaining speed as they neared their target and detonating on contact in various places. After the first wave of explosives, the Defender held off its bomb and pod attacks. He knew what happened next.

The Halberd appeared suddenly behind the Ultimatum and unleashed its own wave of attack, hitting it in the lower back at close range with his Shotgun, quickly followed by a jolt of his Stun weapon. The Ultimatum twitched as it was hit by the different weapons all in rapid succession, but it remained on its feet. The Halberd hopped to the side as the Ultimatum swept behind him with a fist, then vanished away at it swung again, trying to hit it. The Ultimatum only got two more explosions in the face from Caboose pods that the Halberd had left behind.

The Metal Ape was slow to regain his footing being a larger, heavier robo, but once he was upright again he moved up to the opening in the broken wall and followed the Halberd's attack and escape with a flurry of Suppressor bolts. Since there was only one target, all three bolt streams flew in parallel as one. With his other hand, the Metal Ape deployed two wall bombs on the left and right, creating energy pillars to keep the Ultimatum from moving to the side and several Float pods to keep him on the ground. The Defender also resumed his bombardment with all of his weapons.

The Ultimatum was enveloped in gunfire and explosions and put its arms up to protect its head. After several moments of sustained fire, all three robos gradually slowed their attacks and stopped, thinking it had to be at least close to defeat. As the smoke cleared, the Ultimatum could be seen still standing, its arms crossed in front and its head tucked. Its armor was not only intact, but still shining with hardly a scratch or scuff. As the three police robos gazed in disbelief, the Ultimatum raised its head again, "My turn."

With that, he dashed straight forward at the Metal Ape, who tried to back up into the building he was under. The Ultimatum grabbed him and pulled him back out into the open. With one hand, the Metal Ape tried to break the grip with his excessive arm strength, but the Ultimatum's own strength was astonishing. With his other hand, he fired his Suppressor at point blank range into the Ultimatum's abdomen, compounded with the Defender's downward fire with his Sniper, but the larger robo was unfazed.

The Halberd leapt in again and fired his weapons at the joints on the Ultimatum's gripping arm, but the grip held with barely a flinch. With his other hand, the Ultimatum swiped for the Halberd, who jumped up to dodge, then vanished away as another swing came his way. The Metal Ape gave up on his gun and retracted it onto this arm, opting to use his fists, but still the Ultimatum would not let go.

In return, the Ultimatum stopped swinging for the Halberd and used his free hand to inflict several return punches to the Metal Ape, soon putting several deep dents in the side of his chestplate and knocking several chips of armor off of the headpiece. The Halberd moved in to attack again, but when he appeared close, the Ultimatum was ready. He had already started a gut punch in the Halberd's direction, which hit the weaker robo hard and caused him to double over, stunned. The Ultimatum followed with a downward slam to knock him to the ground, then crushed what was left with a foot. The Halberd twitched as its robotics fizzled and shut off, defeated.

The Ultimatum turned its attention back to the Metal Ape and raised a hand in front of him. The Metal Ape had taken to trying to pry the grip loose with both hands, still to no avail. The Defender above kept firing, still unable to find a weak spot or deal any apparent damage, and was starting to feel helpless. As both of them watched, a yellow glow formed in the Ultimatum's free hand. It steadily grew bigger and took shape, then the glow faded to clearly become a robo Shotgun in its hand. And the Metal Ape was looking directly down the barrel.


	3. Chapter 3: True Power Revelation

Chapter 3: True Power Revelation

The Ape could do nothing but watch with natural terror and plenty of adrenaline as Strike's weapon transformed in mid-battle. He had never heard of this ability to even be possible, much less witnessed it firsthand. Either way, there was nothing he could do, his Robo Computer being shut down and rebooting. He closed his eyes to accept the final trigger pull, but it never came. He heard a weapon, but it wasn't where he thought it would be.

The shotgun in Strike's hand was knocked away by a sniper blast from the incoming Ghost Dash. The shotgun was destroyed, but Strike didn't divert his attention from the Ape. Instead, he began transforming the Standard Bomb in his left hand. The Ape's computers rebooted again, and he swept Strike's feet out from under him with a low kick, then jumped up as fast as his rather cumbersome Robo could. He warned the Ghost Dash, "He can change weapons in mid-battle!" and blasted away at the fallen Ultimatum with his  
Corner Gatling.

The Ghost Dash kept at a distance, as it wasn't properly equipped for close combat. He fired a Tomahawk bomb in an arc over the Ape, detonating it right on the Ultimatum's chest, and readied his sniper gun for when Strike recovered.

Even while being fiercely attacked, Strike's left-hand weapon did not stop its transformation. It completed changing from a Standard Bomb to a Stun gun. His systems rebooted, and he immediately somersaulted backwards while pushing off the ground with his hands to land on his feet. He tried to launch a pod at the Ape in mid-flip, but a sniper shot from the Ghost Dash destroyed it before it reached its target. The Ape unleashed another volley of Gatling blasts, but Strike dashed towards him, taking the shots with minimum damage, and slammed into the Ape, knocking him against a wall. Another sniper shot hit Strike in the back, but he paid little attention.

The Ape slumped down to the base of the wall, his systems disabled again and with very little energy left. Strike picked him up with his right hand, then thrust his Stun weapon into the Ape's neck, draining the rest of his energy and eliminating him from the battle.

Strike then turned his attention to the Ghost Dash for the first time in the battle. He instantly took yet another sniper shot to the face, but remained unfazed. The Ghost Dash realized that he couldn't defeat him from close-range, and had to get farther away. He turned and started air dashing away from Strike.

He hadn't gotten very far when a column of yellow energy came up in front of him, immediately knocking him back. He landed on his feet, miraculously, and looked behind him. Strike had changed weapons again. In his left hand he now held a Wall Bomb, and in his right, a Corner Gatling, which had already fired a complete volley of shots, and it was too late for the Ghost Dash to dodge. He took all the shots heavily and was knocked backwards into the still lingering column of energy. He took damage from the wall again  
and was thrown back yet again, this time with his computer knocked out. He landed limply and slid to a stop at Strike's feet.

Strike had already begun another weapon transformation when the Ghost Dash landed. He switched out his Wall Bomb for another Shotgun and pointed it down at the disabled Robo at his feet. The Ghost Dash glanced up in his last few moments in the holoseum at the Corner Gatling in Strike's right hand and wondered how Strike had gotten his hands on it. He didn't have much time to wonder, though, before Strike fired the shotgun and finished the battle.

Returning to reality in the lab, the three guards fell over backwards simultaneously from the stress of the battle. Strike and his team stepped over them unceremoniously and left without any other hindrance.

The guards had still not moved when they were discovered by the research staff the next morning.


	4. Chapter 4: Stolen Future

Chapter 4: Stolen Future

The Chief of the planetary police force had been anticipating this day with excitement and limited patience. He knew that once the Ray UM: Ultimatum was safely in the hands of the police, his title would actually mean something. The police had diminished significantly since the loss of the memory erasure device that had saved civilization from Rahu twice. The system of erasing the minds of criminals was effective until one day it had simply disappeared. Crime had escalated after that, and the police became a much weaker force.

The loss of the device gained a lot of down-lookers and cynics towards the abilities of the police, and they became even less trusted than bounty hunters. The Chief had looked forward to the day that the police would regain trust from the populous and knew that the Ultimatum would do just  
that for them.

The Chief had gotten up extra early so as to arrive at the lab on time for the reception of the UM, and gotten dressed in his best police uniform with many of his medals. He wanted to look his best for this day, for it was one that he felt would be long remembered with pride in police history.

He was surprised to find that several of his officers had already awoken and were waiting for him in the Police HQ Cafeteria. They were just as eager as he was to be ready to make history. They began a light breakfast, but hadn't eaten much when another officer walked in with a wireless phone in his hand. "Chief, it's for you. I think you should take it."

The Chief stood up grumpily, having only been awake for a half-hour, took the phone, and walked out of the room. He came back in within 20 seconds, his face pale, and his expression would have led someone to believe that he had just witnessed his own grave. Everyone stopped eating and waited for him to speak.

"Everyone prepare to leave immediately!" he commanded. Nobody questioned as to why. They knew something bad had happened, and they didn't need any confirmation. All of the officers in the room left, then came back minutes later, prepared to go whenever their Chief instructed so.

As soon as they were all ready, they traveled to the research dome by way of underground train. This had become the most popular and effective way of transporting between dome structures, as walking on the desolate, destroyed planet's surface was particularly distasteful, even though possible. A female scientist who had been awaiting their arrival greeted the Chief and his officers. "Thank you for coming so quickly. I'll tell Ray that you're here."

"I'll tell him myself. I'd like to see him as soon as possible," the Chief responded.

"Of course, sir. If you'll follow me, I'll get you to him with no hindrance at all."

The Chief and his officers followed her to the vault that had held the Ultimatum just hours before, where several scientists were examining and repairing the damage that Strike's team had done. The Chief instructed his officers to gather any information they could from the scientists and the guards. They nodded, and set about talking to various employees of the lab. The Chief didn't need to walk far into the room before he caught sight of Ray, the lead scientist, who was examining the damage on the door. Ray acknowledged his entry after turning to view him. "Chief. I'm glad you're here."

The Chief responded, "Judging by your phone call, there isn't much else to be glad about. What happened here?"

A scientist across the room called to Ray before he could answer, "Ray! Come look at this! I think I've found something!"

Ray started walking in that direction with the Chief, explaining as they walked, "Last night, someone disabled all security in this room, forced their way in, and stole the Ultimatum. The cameras didn't pick up anything, but they were disabled when we initially examined the room." Ray was by then standing next to the scientist who had called him.

The scientist picked up a piece of glass from the floor and said, "Whoever broke the glass case wasn't wearing gloves or any sort of hand protection."

Ray looked closely at the glass. He didn't take it in his own hands, for he wasn't wearing gloves, but he did see a faint trace of dried blood on one of the edges. "Good eye. Run this up to the genetics lab and record the DNA of the blood. See if there's a match with anybody else we have recorded, and-" but then the Chief cut him off.

"Wait," he said, scrutinizing the glass shard. "That's not blood."

"What? What is it, then?" Ray inquired.

The chief gingerly picked up another glass shard, and used it as a makeshift magnifier. After a brief examination, he inferred, "It's rubber. Red rubber."

"Rubber?"

"And since there's not any trace of real blood, the commander either had hand protection or very tough hands." The chief had said all he needed to say on the subject. "How did they know about the Ultimatum in the first place? Only the police and the lab staff should have known."

"I think they have somebody within one of our organizations is working for them and told them everything."

"Where were the security guards at the time of the break-in?"

Ray could only answer, "We don't know for sure, but when their relief squad came in, they were lying just outside the doorway there. All three of them."

"I guess you've already assumed that it was also the work of the commander?"

"Yes, we have every reason to believe that one of them used the Ultimatum to get them out of the way."

The Chief sighed. "Where are the guards now?"

"In a coma in the medical wing. They've been out for several hours, we assume."

"I'd like to be notified as soon as they're awake. They're the only ones who saw who did this, and we need that information." The Chief began moving towards the door.

Ray nodded and said, "You'll be the first one I'll contact."

The Chief looked back over his shoulder and said, "In the meantime, illegalize the Ray UM: Ultimatum universally and contact the bounty hunters. Give them no less information than you gave us."

A senior officer heard him, and protested, "Bounty hunters? Sir, we are perfectly capable of-" but the Chief snapped an interruption.

"Look! Right now, I don't care about the pride of the police! That's what destroyed us in the first place! The only thing I care about right now is getting that Robo out of criminal hands before it does more damage to the ones we're trying to protect! It's more powerful than you think, and we'll need all the help we can get to bring it back!" With that, the Chief stormed out of the room, his face a deep hue of red.

Ray gave the orders to the scientists, "Contact every bounty hunter team reachable. Bring them here and tell them everything."

"Everything?" a scientist asked nervously.

Ray's eyes narrowed, "Everything"


	5. Chapter 5: Ambitious Hunter

Chapter 5: Ambitious Hunter

Training gyms in the various dome colonies were always busy at that time, either with civilian, police, or bounty hunter commanders hoping to improve their Robo skills. The morning after the UM was stolen, though, the police were all elsewhere while the gym was occupied only by a team of bounty hunters called Darclaw. The team, a total of only three at the time, was testing a hopeful recruit, Fletch, to be their fourth teammate.

Fletch was a good commander in spite of only recently getting a Class-D license and being relatively new to Robo battling, but Darclaw's hunters were experienced and only accepted the strongest commanders into their team. Fletch was good, but not meeting their exceptions, and Wade, Darclaw's leader, didn't seem too keen on helping him improve.

Wade was testing Fletch himself in a gym holoseum. Fletch was losing badly, but was still determined to win Wade's approval. Fletch was using a Glory Shining Fighter model equipped with a Gatling gun, Straight-S bomb, and a Diving pod. His customization options were very limited because he hadn't had much of a chance to earn new parts, which he deeply regretted while battling Wade.

The gym's holoseums were standard dueling arenas, not huge like Strike's had been. They were small with black walls and neon lights of various colors lining the edges of obstacles. It wasn't a good place for surprise attacks, and was just an all out gunfight at close range for anyone who used it. Small as it was, though, Fletch had a hard time keeping track of Wade's movements. Wade was using a Glaive Strike Vanisher model.

Fletch fired his Gatling at Wade, who wasn't moving at all, but his blasts only struck air. Wade had vanished behind a wall to Fletch's left. Fletch jumped over the wall to continue his attack, but Wade was ready. As soon as he heard Fletch jumping over the wall, he blasted just once with his Shotgun. The blast hit Fletch straight in the face at near point-blank range, sending him back across the holoseum, computers knocked out for the time being. Wade jumped over the wall, firing a Wave bomb at Fletch's fallen Robo.

Fletch's computers reactivated before it hit, but he couldn't react in time to avoid it. The Wave blasts hit him from the ground into the air, but didn't disable his computers again. Instead, he landed back on his feet to see Wade dashing at him. He aimed quickly and fired his Gatling again, and instead of vanishing, Wade jumped into a hands-free cartwheel over him. Fletch followed Wade's path with his gun, but he was moving to fast for Fletch to keep up.

Fletch had already fired his twelve blasts by the time Wade landed with his back towards him. Wade rested his Shotgun upside-down on his own shoulder, pointing it backward at Fletch, and fired it, knocking Fletch's computer out again and Fletch to the ground. Wade immediately turned dashed over Fletch, and fired his Shotgun downward one last time. Fletch's energy was depleted, and he hadn't hit Wade a single time.

Back in reality, Fletch was really frustrated with not even scoring a single hit on Wade. "Fletch, you're pretty good," Wade said, paused to think, then continued, "OK, I lied. You stink. I mean, you don't even raise your left hand, much less use the bomb you have in it. You wouldn't stand a chance against real criminals that we're hired to go after. You're just not good enough for our team."

Fletch protested, "But if you let me join, you can teach me how I can be better. By being around experienced commanders like you guys, I can pick up on various skills that can help me improve!"

Ronnie, another Darclaw commander, spoke ignorantly, "Our battle style isn't something that just rubs off on people. You have to do it yourself, and if you do nothing but lose, you won't learn how to win."

Fletch spoke out again, "That's not true. You learn a lot more from losing than you do from winning!"

Otto, the team's smallest commander, spoke up, "So you'd rather lose? If that's how you think, you definitely shouldn't be on this team!"

Fletch sighed, "No, that's not what I mean! I meant that if you win, you get the reward, and if you lose, you learn from your mistakes so you can win the next time."

Wade countered by saying, "In bounty hunting, you can't go around thinking that losing is all right! Losing is not a learning experience in this profession. It's a failure and a shame! Fletch, you're not good enough for our team. I'm rejecting your application right now. Leave."

"But why can't you guys just teach me?"

"LEAVE!" Wade shouted, causing everyone to flinch. Fletch turned bitterly towards the door to look for a more generous team to join, thinking, "Jerks!"

Fletch was about to exit the Gym when Wade's phone rang. Darclaw, tough as they were, had never been successful enough to get it's own office, so the team's official phone number was really Wade's cell phone. Fletch lingered in the doorway and listened as Wade spoke.

"Darclaw Hunters, this is Wade," He said politely, "... You do?.. Where?.. Immediately? We'll be over as quick as we can... Sure." He closed his phone, looking happy for once. He addressed his team while Fletch continued to listen intently, "We've got a big job opportunity! If we get this bounty, we'll have it made. This is the kind of job every bounty hunter is looking for!"

Otto interrupted him, "So what's the job, and how much is the reward?"

A stunned silence from Wade indicated that he had no idea. "It's something at the Robo Research Dome… and we need to go there to find out what."

Upon hearing the team's first destination, Fletch exited the gym and headed immediately down the street towards the Inter-dome Train Station. He barely made it onto a train for the Research Dome, ensuring that Darclaw wouldn't be in the same trip as he. He waited impatiently for the train to stop at the Lab, where he hoped beyond all hope that he would be able to claim his first bounty, even if he had to do it alone.


	6. Chapter 6: Bounty Posted

Chapter 6: Bounty Posted

Fletch disembarked from the train as soon as it stopped, and hurried up the stairs into the Research Lab's Lounge. The same scientist that welcomed the police was awaiting the arrival of various Bounty Hunter teams, only a few of which had arrived sooner than Fletch. The scientist greeted him politely, "Are you a Bounty Hunter?" she inquired.

"Um… Kinda."

"Hm? Where's the rest of your team?"

"Uhh… I'm a freelancer."

"I see. Please have a seat. We will brief everyone on the details shortly."

Fletch nodded and took a seat on a couch that was already seating a small team of three.

He waited impatiently as various other Bounty Hunter teams showed up. The room got more and more crowded, and one of the hunters next to Fletch commented, "Wow, this must be something huge!"

More and more teams showed up, some Fletch recognized, but most he didn't. Darclaw showed up, of course, as well as Arrowheads, Tiger Dash, Venture Commanders, the teams just kept coming and coming. Some teams had to be put in another room, there were so many. Finally, the waves of teams of commanders stopped coming, and both waiting rooms were emptied into a much larger auditorium, where they all found seats and waited.

The scientist that had greeted them upon entering stepped up to a microphone in front of them and spoke. "Thank you all for coming on such short notice. What Ray, our head scientist, is about to tell you has not been revealed to anyone but the police and our own research staff. The job we are hiring you all for is large and very dangerous, so if any of you wish to decline, you may leave now." A moment was given for any team who wished to leave to do so, but none of the commanders in the room even budged, so she continued, "Then Ray will inform you of the details."

She stepped aside, and Ray stepped up to the microphone. "For the past few months, we have been working on a new Robo called the Ray UM: Ultimatum. It was intended to be kept a secret from everyone but the police. It was to be given to the police this morning to improve their ability to deal with the high level of crime we face today.

"We had only made one so that the technology would be held only by the police and could not be matched, but last night, someone broke in, stole it, and used it to knock out three of our guards and escape. Our plans for the new Ray have completely backfired upon us, and you are here because we need you to bring it back."

A soft murmur went through the crowd, but fell silent again as Ray continued talking. "The Ultimatum is unlike anything we have ever created, and will not be easy to beat. Its build makes it very hard to damage or knock down, and it can inflict huge amounts of damage through even the weakest of weapons. It's most revolutionary quality, though, is it's ability to change weapons in mid-battle." Another murmur went through the crowd, this time much louder. Ray silenced it again, "It also has the ability to acquire the weapons of Robos that it defeats. Standard Robos download parts from part generators, as you all know, but the Ultimatum does not. It automatically downloads them from the defeated enemy and can employ them in the same battle. This upgrade negates any parts that are gained from a parts generator, so it had to start out with all standard weapons, but after taking out the guards last night, it has gained several more weapons, so it isn't lightly armed anymore. It is extremely dangerous, and our guards are lucky to only be knocked out. It was intended to be unstoppable, but a way must be found. That is why we are relying on you. Any questions?"

Almost every hand in the room went up. Ray sighed, and called on people one at a time. The first question put down several more hands in the room, "Why can't you make another UM to counter the one that was stolen?"

Ray answered firmly, "Because we destroyed all of the research data so that it could never be copied or reproduced. We feared that if we left any trace of research, it would risk being stolen by criminals hoping to stop the police. I know that doesn't sound smart, but it was necessary for our plans to make it invincible."

Another question came up, "Are there any clues as to who might have stolen it or where they might be?"

"The only lead we have is that a glass shard had a trace of red rubber on it, but more is bound to be discovered, as the UM will be used for crime and its location will be revealed whenever it is used." More hands went down.

Ray continued to answer questions, but the main point of his answers was that they had nothing that could be used to create another UM, and no leads as to its location. At long last, all the hands in the room were down, and Ray spoke again. "We have only one bit of equipment to aide you in the UM's capture. It is a Robo chip similar to a part upgrade, but it gives you the powers to match the Ultimatum."

At that moment, nearly everyone started raising their hands and saying, "Give me one!"

"I want one!"

"Let me have one, too!"

"SILENCE!" Ray quickly restored order. "We only have one. Fortunately, we overlooked it when we destroyed all the research data on the Ultimatum, but we can only give it to one commander." Everyone remained silent to hear an explanation. "You put it into your Robo like you would when connecting it to a part generator, but once it is used once, it becomes blank and useless. It allows you to obtain your opponent's weapons after defeating them as well as exchange customization in mid-battle. The downside is that all the parts that you currently have will be erased from your Robo's memory and you will have to start with a standard customization. It also does not provide the extra firepower and defensive strength that the UM has, so you'll have to find a way around that." Fewer commanders wanted it after hearing that their weapon lineup would be erased, so were not as eager to obtain the chip.

Ray continued, "To have the best odds against the UM, we will need to give this chip to the strongest commander here. To determine this, we are going to have a Robo tournament right here, right now. The winner will get the upgrade chip. Register yourselves over at one of the desks," Ray indicated four desks on the right side of the room. "Once everyone who wants to enter is registered, we will randomly assort the matches and begin as soon as possible. Any weapons may be used. That is all." Ray concluded and walked away from the microphone.

Commanders started registering immediately. Many, however, stayed away from the desks, the fear of losing all their acquired parts bidding them not to enter. Fletch saw this as his chance to prove himself, as well as increase his chances in battle, and whispered to himself, "I've gotta win that chip."


	7. Chapter 7: He Can Be Taught

Chapter 7: He Can be Taught

Fletch waited in line to register for the tournament for the chip, but in the middle of the wait, a cute girl about his age with short, light-blue haircame up to him and asked, "Excuse me, could you come with me for a few minutes?"

Fletch didn't want to wait any longer than he had to, so he replied, "Ummm… What's this about?"

She smiled and said, "It will be worth your time."

He sighed, figuring there would be plenty of time to register, judging by the size of the lines, so he obliged, "Sure." She thanked him, then led him through the crowd to a portion of the room where two other bounty hunters were sitting. One was a large… ish muscular man with a green vest and black pants, the other a boy also about Fletch's age with a shirt tie-dyed various shades of blue and who appeared to be sleeping.

Upon seeing Fletch with the girl, the muscular man stood up and walked to him. The girl stopped, and the man held out his right hand to Fletch, "I'm Tyson, leader of Spearhand Bounty Hunters." Tyson indicated the girl, "This is Kip," Kip smiled, then pointing to the other boy, Tyson said "and that's Jay." Jay waved, though his eyes remained closed.

Fletch shook Tyson's hand and replied, "I'm Fletch, and I'm-"

Tyson cut him off, "A freelancer, I know. I heard you when you came in."

Fletch waited for a few seconds, then asked, "So what do you want?"

Tyson chuckled, "What do i you /i think?"

Fletch barely needed time to think, "I think you're trying to recruit me."

"Exactly right. This 'Ultimatum' doesn't sound like something that a single commander can take down alone, and our team is too small to do it by ourselves as well. I think we can help each other. If you join us, we'll have a larger team, and you won't be alone. What say you?"

Fletch considered for a moment, then said, "I'll make you a deal. I'll join your team if you teach me how to do this."

Tyson raised an eyebrow, "How to do what?"

"Robo battle, and how to be good at it."

Tyson looked at Kip questionably, and she nodded to him. He looked back at Fletch and said, "All right, deal."

"And if I can't beat my first opponent in this tournament, the deal's off and I'm gone."

"You drive a hard bargain, but Kip's the best teacher I know for this sort of thing. She'll have you in shape for the first battle." Tyson looked back at Jay, who was still dozing. "JAY!" Jay jumped several inches out of his seat as he awoke, startled. "Go with Kip and… uhh…" he snapped his fingers twice, trying to remember Fletch's name, "uhh… Flash-"

"Fletch," Kip corrected him.

"-Fletch! Go with Kip and Fletch and register for the tournament."

Jay groaned, "Do I have to?"

"Do I have to answer that?"

Jay sighed, "Fine," got up, and walked with Kip and Fletch back through the crowd towards the registration desks. The lines were, by then, very short, so the wait wasn't very long. After everyone who wanted to register had done so, the three went back to where Tyson was waiting for them.

Fletch asked Tyson, "So why didn't you register?"

Tyson didn't respond. He just looked down in some dismay. Kip answered for him, "His Robo was severely damaged in a battle a few days ago, and is still under repair." Kip wanted to know about Fletch's battling experience so as to know where to start training him. "So how long have you been battling?"

"A week or two. I got turned down from Darclaw this morning, but they were total jerks to me anyway."

"Oh, Darclaw. They're mean, I know," Jay said. "They turned me down, too, and they weren't too nice about it. They're tough, though, aren't they?"

"Yeah. They'll probably beat out everybody and win the chip," Tyson sighed.

Fletch stood up and said, "I don't want to see them win this. I want to make sure they don't get that chip." His right fist clenched.

Tyson crossed his arms across his chest, "And I suppose you're the one who's going to stop them?"

Fletch looked at him, determination burning in his eyes, "I'm counting on it."

"Then I guess we should start training you right now, before your battle starts." At that moment, the tournament bracket came up on a screen behind the registration desks. Fletch's battle was near the far right, and Kip's was even farther right. Jay's was close to the left. The battles would move from left to right, so Fletch's was near the end of the first round of battles. Tyson looked up at the bracket, then said, "And since both you and Kip have late battles, you have some time to train. Kip, can you get him in shape in twenty minutes?"

Kip smiled and said, "Only if he's a fast learner!"

Fletch smiled, "Don't worry. I am."

Kip smiled back, "OK. We'll use my holoseum." Both she and Fletch assumed their respective fighting stances and dove into Kip's self-generated holoseum to begin Fletch's training.

Tyson said to Jay, "You should head over to your battle, Jay. It's the second one on the board."

Jay sighed again, "I know, I know. I'm going," and headed off through the crowd, which was thinning quickly as commanders were taking seats again to clear up the main floor.

As soon as Jay was out of sight, Tyson noticed something odd about Fletch's fighting stance. His right hand was raised in a fist, but his left arm was down by his side, no muscles tensed in any way. He thought little of it though, and waited patiently for Jay to return. He glanced up at the bracket board, and Jay's battle was taking a while. Even battles that had started afterwards were ending sooner than his. Finally, the battle ended, and the bracket showed the results. Jay had lost.

The crowd had by then diminished completely, except for a few people still standing in various places. Jay made his way across the room back to Tyson looking depressed. He slumped into the sofa and closed his eyes again. He muttered, "It was Ronnie from Darclaw." After that, neither of them spoke until Kip and Fletch came back to reality.

"So are you ready?" Tyson inquired.

Fletch smirked, "More so than I've ever felt in my life."

"Well, your battle's coming up, so you should head that direction."

Fletch looked back at Kip, and they smiled at each other. Fletch turned and walked across the room to his battle, whispering to himself, "I'm ready."


	8. Chapter 8: When it Counts

Chapter 8: When it Counts

Fletch arrived at the lab holoseum platform where his first battle in the tournament would take place. Another battle had just finished and his opponent wasn't there yet, so he just waited patiently, going over everything that Kip had taught him in his head. His opponent arrived in less than a minute. He was a short boy who didn't look very experienced. Even so, he spoke to Fletch in a taunt, "You ready to lose?"

Fletch looked at the bracket board to see his opponent's info:

Name: Tyler

Age: 11

Team: Bighead Boys

Fletch sighed in disbelief, " i This /i is my first opponent?"

Tyler taunted again, "What? You scared or something?"

"Um, no. I-"

"Well you should be! I'm good!"

"And your team is very aptly named."

"And I'm the best commander on it!"

"Riiiight. We'll see. Let's go."

"You're on!" And with that, they asumed their fighting stances and dove into the lab's platform holoseum.

Fletch had no idea what to expect from a kid, so he decided on an all-around battling customization. He had to use his Glory model, and for his weapons he selected a Gatling gun for his right hand, a Tomahawk-G bomb for his left, and a Spider pod. His legs were still Standard, as he had not obtained any alternative. The two Robos landed on opposite sides of the holoseum, which had solid walls in various locations lined by randomly colored neon lights. Tyler activated quickly and had already unleashed a shot from across the stage before Fletch had taken Robo form.

Fletch's cube transformed upon being hit, but his computers were disabled so he still couldn't do anything. He reactivated rather quickly though, just in time to see the next shot coming at him. It was a Dragon shot, so it's slow motion allowed Fletch a quick dodge and a chance to duck behind a wall. From there he shot around the corner blindly, keeping his head out of sight.

Fletch stopped and retracted his arm to plan his next move, but before he could think at all, a calm voice sounded in his head, "Behind you."

Fletch could only wonder, "Kip?" but before the voice could answer, a Straight-S bomb detonated right on his back. Fletch was thrown forward with his computers down again, but he recovered quickly again, too. It was then that he viewed his adversary for the first time. He was a Funky Bighead: Seal Head model with a Dragon gun and a Straight-S bomb. Fletch couldn't identify his legs or his pod on the spur of the moment, but they looked familiar. His opponent was dashing towards him for a close range attack, but hadn't anticipated Fletch's quick recovery time. Fletch sidestepped and clotheslined his opponent with his right arm, at the same time setting a Spider pod on top of him as he fell.

Fletch air-dashed away while his opponent was disabled for the time being. He took cover behind another wall and said almost to himself, "Kip? Was that you?"

The voice returned to his head, but it wasn't Kip. It was Jay, "I'll explain later. Just listen to me."

Fletch was really confused, but he did as he was told, "OK. As long as you expl"

"Fire to your right! Now!"

Without thinking, Fletch fired his gatling to his right. He didn't see anything there at first, but just as his first blast left the cover of the wall, Tyler's Robo ran around the corner right into the line of fire, taking all twelve shots perfectly in between the eyes. Tyler was knocked back, but not disabled, and fired a Straight-S bomb straight at Fletch as he fell away.

"Drop backwards!" Jay's voice sounded in his head again. Fletch quickly fell flat on his back, not realizing how silly he would look in any other situation. The bomb could not arc downwards, so it passed harmlessly over him.

"Get up and drop a pod!"

Fletch did both simultaneously, not realizing that with the way he was rising, he was between his dropped Spider and Tyler. As he got up, he saw another Dragon coming towards him with Tyler dashing right behind it, intent on following his Dragon attack with a body slam. Fletch had no time to dodge or even raise his arm to fire his weapons, but Jay was there for him again. "Spread your legs!" Fletch thought this an awfully strange thing to be asked to do, but he did so without hesitation. As soon as he had, though, the Spider dashed under both him and the Dragon and exploded right in Tyler's face, causing his Dragon to disappear and Tyler to stumble forward, his computer overloaded.

"Now hit him!" Fletch already had begun to do so with his right hand when Jay gave the command, and he completed the action before Jay could finish. He bashed Tyler right in the nose, which was huge on his robo, with the front of his gun while at the same time firing it, so Tyler took extra damage and distance as he flew backward, hit the top of a small wall, and flopped over it, disabled again.

As Tyler disappeared over the wall, Fletch heard a voice in his head again, but this time it was Kip's voice again. "Do it, Fletch."

Fletch hesitated for a moment, then very slowly and extremely shakily raised his left hand to his aim at the wall Tyler's disabled Robo was lying behind. He fired his Tomahawk-G bomb, which arched over the wall, landed perfectly on Tyler, and detonated, finishing his Robo off and ending the battle.

They both came back to reality, and Tyler was no longer the arrogant little twerp he was before the battle started. He immediately started complaining about how the battle arena must have been fixed or something in Fletch's favor, but Fletch paid him no heed. He then realized that something was on the back of his head. He turned around in surprise to see that Kip was standing behind him with her hand on his head and her eyes closed. She opened them as soon as Fletch turned. She smiled sheepishly.

Fletch asked, "What's going on, Kip?"


	9. Chapter 9: The Power Within

Chapter 9: The Power Within

Kip hastily said to Fletch, "My battle's about to start. See ya!" She smiled and headed off to another battle platform without another word. She would have used the holoseum that Fletch had just used, but after each battle, a few minutes are required for the holoseum to repair and reset.

Fletch and walked back over to where Tyson and Jay were. Jay was asleep on the sofa, but he barely made any sound while breathing deeply. Tyson looked up at Fletch. "So you won?"

Fletch said, "Yes, but our deal isn't done yet. I said if i I /i won my first battle, and I meant by myself."

Tyson looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"Jay and Kip were talking to me during the battle and—"

"JAY!" Tyson yelled. Jay woke up abruptly and very startled.

"What, chief?"

"I told you to keep out of his battle!"

"Uh... eh... well..." Jay stammered.

"Just what exactly is going on here?" Fletch asked.

Tyson sighed, "Kip's better at explaining it than I am. All I can tell you is that they can talk to people while they're battling."

"How?"

"That's what Kip's better at explaining. Just leave it at that until she gets back."

Fletch gave up and sat down between them. Jay resumed his dozing and Tyson just sat back. Fletch was still confused and bewildered at what had happened in his battle, but knew that all would be explained when Kip returned. Or at least he hoped. Tyson broke the silence as something came to his mind, "Say Fletch, I've been meaning to ask you. What's with your fighting stance?" Fletch looked at him in question. Tyson continued, "I mean, your left hand just hangs loose. What's up with that?"

Fletch was silent for a moment, then sighed, "I guess there's no more point in hiding it." Tyson looked inquiringly at him. Fletch said, "My left arm is paralyzed. It's been like that all my life. I couldn't get into Darclaw because I never used my left-hand weapon because I didn't know how to use my left arm, even when I'm able to in battle. But I told Kip while she was teaching me, and I was able to use it for the first time in that last battle."

Jay spoke, though his eyes stayed closed, "So that's what Kip meant when she said, 'Do it,' right? She meant for you to use your left weapon?"

"Yeah. But I'm a bit shaky when I use it in battle. I can't keep it stable for very long because I'm still learning how to use it."

"You'll probably get better at it as time wears on," Tyson assured him.

"I sure hope so."

Kip returned just a few minutes later, and before the tournament bracket had even posted the status of her battle, Jay awoke without even being spoken to and said, "Good job, Kip."

Kip smiled, "Thank you." Only then did the bracket update to show that she had indeed won her match.

Fletch looked at Jay, astounded, "How did you... Okay, what's going on?"

Kip looked surprised, "Oh? Tyson hasn't explained it yet?"

"Well, he tried."

Kip smiled again, "OK, here's how it works. Every commander has their own special ability. We don't know how they get it, and I don't know why, but every single Robo commander can do something that nobody else in the world can even conceive.

"For example, Jay can use his mind to see things that are far away or hidden, and to some extent can read the minds of others, but not completely."

Jay took over the explanation of his own powers, "My mind reading ability is limited to the commander's direct thoughts and that which their mind hasn't discovered, but is still connected to."

Fletch was taking all this in at a much slower pace than it was being explained, "Wait, I don't get that last part. You can see what they are thinking at that time and i what /i ?"

Jay tried to simplify it, "If there is something linked to a commander's mind, but that the commander isn't thinking about directly, I can see it."

Fletch continued to look confused, but was starting to grasp the concept a little better. Kip continued, "Since a commander's mind is linked directly with the holoseum they are battling in, Jay can see the entire holoseum, even when the commander he is reading can't. The commander's direct thoughts lie on what they can see of the holoseum, and their undiscovered thoughts are of the rest of the holoseum that they can't see. Does that help you understand it a bit better?"

"Kinda... Just keep going."

Kip continued, "My ability is that I can mind-talk to others. As long as both my mind and the mind I'm talking to aren't connected to anything, like a holoseum or a Robo, I can talk freely from a long distance, but I have to be able to see them."

"From a distance? So why were you touching me when you talked to me?" Fletch looked at Jay, then back at Kip, "And how was Jay talking to me?"

Kip smiled again, "When your mind isn't freely thinking, meaning it's being fed images and impulses like in a holoseum, I can't connect without contact. As for how Jay talks to you, we kinda work together. He runs his power through me into the holoseum, so I can see the entire arena like he can and he can talk to you just like I can. We pretty much share each other's powers by combining them in the same path to your mind."

Fletch looked over at Tyson, "So what's Tyson's power?"

Kip looked back at Tyson. He raised his head as if in question, but then answered, "I… I really don't know yet. I've been trying to find it for a long time, but I haven't had any luck."

Kip said, "We don't know what predetermines a commander's ability either, so there's no way of knowing without them showing it."

"So can any of these powers be used in battle?"

Tyson shook his head again, "I don't think so. I've never heard of anyone being able to use a power in battle because the mind is so occupied with the holoseum link, so it can't be focused nearly enough to use them."

"Okay. One more question. Why have I never heard about this before?"

Tyson answered again, "Most commanders go their entire lives without discovering their power. Those that do normally try to keep it a secret. Some just dismiss it as a gift that nobody else has, so only a select few people in all of history have ever discovered it."

"Like when?"

Tyson had an answer already, "You've heard of Marcia, one of the three heroes from the age of Rahu, right?"

"I've heard of all three of them. Marcia was the one who could half-dive."

"That was her power. She was the only one of the three who ever discovered it. Everybody thought that she was just an anomaly, so nobody pursued it further. That's why the story hasn't spread."

Fletch found it very difficult to take all this in at one time, but he got the main gist of it, "OK, I don't really get it, but I got it."

"Good, because your battle's about to start without you."

Fletch glanced quickly up at the bracket board to see that Tyson was right, as well as his opponent's data:

Name: Dean

Age: 23

Team: Venture Commanders

He looked back at Kip and Jay and said, "I want to do this myself, OK? I'll never realize my potential if you're helping me."

Kip sighed in dismay, "OK. We promise to stay out of it. Right Jay?" but Jay remained silent, his eyes closed. Kip sighed again, "Don't worry, he can't interfere without me."

"I know. And if he's asleep, he can't do it either," Fletch laughed.

"Asleep?" Kip asked in a wondering tone.

"Ah, forget it. I'll be late for my battle. I'll be back soon!"

As Fletch walked across the room again, Kip whispered after him, "Good luck Fletch..."


	10. Chapter 10: Freeze

Chapter 10: Freeze

Fletch walked to his battle station, which appeared to be a much different arena than the one he had last used. His opponent, Dean, was already there, waiting patiently. " Bout time!" He said as Fletch approached. The Venture Commanders team had a reputation for having good sportsmanship, so Dean held his hand out to shake Fletch's, "I'm Dean"

Fletch shook his hand, "Fletch"

"All right. Let's do this, then." They both dove into the holoseum, and the battle commenced.

Fletch knew that the Venture Commanders were known for using Metal Grappler models, so Dean would be much harder to damage than Tyler had, as well as difficult to knock down. On top of that, the battle would be even more difficult without Kip and Jay there to help him. He decided on a more damaging and defensive customization. He shifted through his very limited weapon options, wishing he had a Dragon gun or at least a Sniper. His bombs left something to be desired, too, and his list of available pods was even smaller. He was at a complete loss for powerful weapons, so the strategy he was initially planning couldn't possibly be executed.

His thoughts then came to rest on a weapon he had only recently acquired, but had never used: his Freeze bomb. Even with the stability ratings of all the Metal Grapplers, they couldn't prevent the effects of freezing. He was about to select it as left-hand weapon, but reconsidered and put it in his right. He chose a Vertical gun for his left hand, being well known for its knockdown power. He had a Diving pod, which was a pretty strong weapon, so he chose it for his pod. He deeply wished he had one of the two existing freeze pods, but he had neither, so he had to work with limited options. He confirmed his customization and entered the holoseum.

This time, Fletch's cube was the first to activate, but Dean's still-cubed Robo wasn't in plain sight. Still, Fletch knew the properties of his Vertical gun, so he shakily raised it in his left hand and fired it straight up on the air. The blasts' homing abilities took over and arched downward over a very small wall to his right and hit Dean's cube, activating it in a disabled state. Dean recovered extremely quickly, though, and stood up, seeming undamaged and unfazed. Fletch took note that Dean used a dark blue Metal Bear model. Before Fletch could react, Dean had raised his arm and Fletch was hit by a super-speedy Sniper blast.

The shot was quicker than any other weapon he had seen before. He was knocked back and down with a single shot, and was hit by another as he was busy reactivating. The second his computer was reactivated, he made a quick jump behind the cover of another wall, barely avoiding being hit by another sniper shot. From there, he deployed his two Diving pods over the wall. He heard Dean snipe one out of the air, and Fletch immediately stood up and fired a freeze bomb across the arena. Dean had already fired another Sniper shot at the second pod, so he couldn't stop Fletch's bomb with another because his gun took so long to reload. His Robo was too slow to dodge, so he could do nothing but get hit. The bomb did barely any damage, but froze Dean where he stood temporarily.

Fletch rested his left arm on the wall he was behind so as to make it easier to control his aim. He fired several vertical shots across the holoseum, all of which hit Dean dead on. He fired another volley of verticals, but before they hit, Dean unfroze and sniped Fletch in the face, causing his computers to overload and his second wave of vertical shots to vanish.

Fletch fell back behind the wall, only a third of his original energy left. However, his energy decreased even more as a Standard-X bomb arched over the wall and exploded near Fletch's downed Robo. Fletch reactivated and came to a ducking position behind the wall. The size of Dean's Robo gave him away as he walked heavily across the holoseum. Fletch heard his every step, and just as Dean was about to turn the corner around the wall, Fletch fired a Freeze bomb at his opponent's feet, freezing him again. Quickly, Fletch stood and dashed towards Dean. He slammed into him as hard as he could, but Dean's Robo was built like a tank. He couldn't knock him away, but Fletch was a little bit stunned by the recoil.

As a last attack while Dean was still frozen, Fletch jumped straight up and thrust both of his feet forward for a kick while at the same time activating the descent augmentation feature on his standard legs. The powerful blast-kick knocked Dean over, disabled again, and Fletch recovered by backflipping off of the impact. Before Dean could get up again, Fletch fired his Vertical gun again, shaky as always with his left hand, but still somewhat accurate, which finished off the last of Dean's energy.

They both came back to reality, and Dean was still maintaining his sportsman-like mood. He congratulated Fletch, but seemed somewhat disturbed. He said, "That was weird. I've never had a battle go by so quickly with my high defense."

Fletch hadn't realized it until then, but the battle i had /i gone by really fast.

Dean shrugged, "Maybe time just seems to fly when you're battling," and walked back to his team. Fletch did the same.

Jay was again dozing on the sofa, but opened one eye as Fletch approached and said, "Good job again." He then closed his eye back and resumed his subconsciousness.

"Thanks," Fletch said, unsure if Jay had heard him before falling back to sleep.

Tyson and Kip congratulated him as well, but sounding like they had expected him to win.

Kip smiled at him again, looking at him, but seemed a bit more cheery than usual. Fletch expected her to say something as a remark to her good mood, but when she was silent, he inquired, "What?"

She kept smiling, and indicated the tournament bracket, "We're up next."

Fletch looked at the data for his next opponent:

Name: Kip

Age: 17

Team: Spearhand

Kip was hysterically exited all over, "I get to test how well you've learned!"

Fletch said, "No matter what happens, though, we're still friends."

"Right! And no holding back either."

"I won't if you won't."

"I promise."

They were both quiet for a while. Jay was dozing silently, as always, and Tyson seemed to be doing the same. The tournament bracket neared their battle, and Fletch noticed that the only remaining commander on the board from Darclaw was Ronnie. Ronnie had beaten Wade in the second round, who had beaten Otto in the first, and Fletch knew that if he was going to win the chip, he would have to face Ronnie. And according to the board, that wouldn't happen until the final battle of the tournament.

Fletch sighed upon realization, and looked around. He tried to start a conversation, "Jay sure sleeps a lot, doesn't he?"

Kip eyed him in question, "Sleep?"

Jay opened his eyes, looked at Fletch, and echoed Kip's question, "Yeah, 'Sleep?'"

"Well, you do," Fletch said.

Jay closed his eyes and resumed his dozing position, "I don't sleep."

"Then what's that you're doing now?"

Kip said, "He's not sleeping when he does that. He's using his power. He's looking at battles, seeing who's winning, and reading people's thoughts."

"Oh," Fletch said.

"Like I said," Jay said, "I don't sleep"

"This just keeps getting weirder and weirder," Fletch sighed. The silence retook the scene, and Kip and Fletch continued waiting for their battle to be announced. They were sure it would be fun for the both of them, but it only seemed that way beforehand.


	11. Chapter 11: No Grudges

Chapter 11: No Grudges

The long-anticipated announcement was made, and Fletch and Kip were called up for their battle. Tyson watched them walk away, firm seriousness in his gaze. Jay, of course, appeared to be sleeping, but was really using his mind-reading powers to see all that was going on around the room.

The two arrived at their holoseum platform, and stood across from each other. They looked at each other for the longest time, smiled at the same time, then as they dove into the holoseum, Fletch said, "If you win, I won't hold anything against you."

He anticipated Kip to use some type of Aerial Beauty model, and he customized accordingly. He needed something that would bring down a quick mover, and didn't even have to deal a lot of damage to be effective. He had nothing that would move as fast as an Aerial Beauty, but his Three-way gun's spread-fire capability would give him the firing area that he would need to just get the hits in. He selected it for his right hand. He also selected a Freeze bomb for his left, just in case he needed to use the freezing strategy again.

For his pod, he chose his Spider pod for its large blast size and mine-like tendencies. His legs, of course, remained standard.

He entered the holoseum in cube form, and was almost immediately bombarded and knocked down by several blasts that he couldn't identify by touch. He got up, but was knocked back again by what he identified at the last second as shots from a Hornet gun. He wasn't knocked down, but he was a bit dizzy from so many consecutive hits. He saw the next wave coming, though, and fired his Three-Way into the swarm, destroying all five shots.

Before the cloud of mini-explosions had cleared, a very fast bomb flew straight through it and violently blew Fletch back and over a wall. He hadn't even gotten a glimpse of Kip's Robo yet. He recovered quickly behind the wall, and hesitated for a moment, thinking over how he was going to do this.

He jumped up from behind the wall, firing his Three-way and sweeping it sideways so as to hit anything within the blast range. None of the shots hit, but as they disappeared, Fletch caught a glimpse of a blue blur moving from behind one wall to the next on the far side of the holoseum. Fletch, as quick as his left hand could react, fired a freeze bomb ahead of the path of the blur so as to cut it off. The bomb hit dead-center of Kip's path, and Kip was already moving too fast to avoid it. She ran into the lingering blast, freezing in her tracks. Only then did Fletch finally get a good look at her Robo. It was an Aerial Beauty, as he had predicted. A Milky Way model whose light blue color matched Kip's short, blue hair in reality.

Fletch took this opportunity to jump as far as he could towards her, firing his Three-way at her, but being a spread-fire gun, only the middle series of blasts hit her, the other two going either to the left or right. He continued his dash toward her, firing his Three-way again, but she unfroze just as the blasts left the gun. She dashed towards him, too, but almost too fast to see, and before he could react, she had crouched and slammed the entirety of her weight into Fletch's knees, not only ducking under his shots, but also knocking him off his feet and sending him careening over her and into the air. While he was still flying, she turned and unleashed five more Hornet shots at him. Needless to say, Kip was whupping him.

Fletch landed heavily with a slight groan of frustration, recovered, and staggered up just in time to see Kip dashing at him again. To counter, Fletch quickly raised a foot towards her to clothesline her in the face. Kip instinctively ducked and pulled into a sliding kick that would knock Fletch's other foot out from under him. Fletch quickly put his raised foot back down, stomping on Kip in doing so, knocking her computers out and pinning her to the ground.

He fired his Three-way at her fallen Robo, and he was close enough that all of the blasts hit her before they could fan out into a wider area. Kip's computers reactivated quickly, and she twisted herself on the ground, knocking Fletch's foot off of her, while sweeping with her own leg to knock Fletch's other foot out from under him again. He landed, his computers knocked out, and with very little energy left.

Kip got up very quickly and gracefully and pointed her gun down at Fletch's nearly defeated Robo. Fletch's low, and barely even existent, energy level prevented him from recovering quickly enough to stop her. There was nothing he could do but wait for it all to end with the simple pull of a trigger. He had lost.


	12. Chapter 12: The Only

Chapter 12: The Only

Fletch had no options but to accept defeat. His disabled Robo couldn't possibly recover before Kip could fire her gun and finish him off. She hesitated though, winced, and lowered her weapon, moaning almost in a whisper like she was in pain. She stepped back, holding her head as best she could with her weapons in hand. "Please stop..." She whispered, as if to herself. She then half-yelled, "AAHH!" and staggered as if off-balance.

Fletch seized the moment, his computers coming back to life, and jumped up, firing his Three-Way at her. She seemed to snap back to her senses then, and dashed to the side, avoiding the middle stream of shots, but taking the left stream in the shoulder and knocking her off balance. She stumbled, trying to maintain her balance, her computers hovering delicately between active and disabled. Fletch completed the deactivation by body-slamming into her, knocking her over. He set three Spider pods in the same place near her, and jumped back. Kip started to stagger up, her computers back online, but as soon as she moved, the three Spider pods reacted and dashed at her, knocking her back over.

Fletch fired his Three-way at her fallen Robo again, the middle stream hitting with every shot. Kip recovered again, and quickly jumped up and dashed to the side before Fletch could attack again. She once again became a blue blur that dashed around the holoseum, nearly invisible, while at the same time firing round after round of Hornets at Fletch. Fletch would destroy each wave of Hornets with his Three-way's spread-fire, but at the same time, he wasn't inflicting any more damage on Kip.

He knew he had to stop her again, and found the strength to fire his Freeze bomb in Kip's path again with his left hand while simultaneously stopping the Hornet waves with his Three-way. Kip once again froze in her tracks, moving too fast to avoid hitting the freezing blast, and Fletch was already moving towards her for a physical strike. Kip unfroze much, much sooner than Fletch had anticipated, and his body slam hit nothing but air. Kip seemed to have simply vanished.

Fletch darted his gaze and his aim around the holoseum, looking for the blur of blue again, but he didn't see it. The next thing he knew, Kip had dropped from straight above him and kicked his raised Three-way gun out of his hand. It flipped across the holoseum, and exploded upon contact with a wall. Kip landed right in front of Fletch. Fletch hooked a punch at her with his right hand, but she quickly ducked under it. Fletch swung his weaker left hand as best he could as a follow-up, but Kip dropped both her weapons and easily caught the swing with both hands.

She then quickly twisted his arm towards him awkwardly, and Fletch had no idea what she was doing until he noticed that his own Freeze bomb was now pointed at himself. He lashed out with his right fist again, but Kip had already forced his fingers to tighten against the trigger. As the bomb was detonating, Fletch's punch hit her, knocking her back, but she easily recovered into a back-flip to land safely away from the small Freezing field.

Fletch was frozen, and for the second time, he watched Kip prepare for the final blow. She dashed at him for a full-on body slam, but as her distance closed, she collapsed as if her legs had suddenly lost all stability. She fell to the ground, holding her head in agony.

"AAHH! Stop! Please… not now!"

Fletch unfroze, but didn't continue fighting. He knelt beside her and said, "Kip! What's happening!"

"Fletch, just finish the battle. Please…"

"Kip…"

"Just do it! Don't think, just do it! AAAHHH!"

Fletch hesitated for only a moment, then stood and dropped three spider pods at once under him. Kip thought he was going to drop them and then jump away to win the battle, but upon looking into his eyes, she saw otherwise.

Kip gasped quickly and thrust out with her foot to knock Fletch away from the exploding pods. The explosions finished off her energy, and Fletch was knocked clear of the blasts, winning the battle. He had intended the pods to drain his own energy instead of hers.

Fletch came back to reality in the lab, but he didn't see Kip on the other side of the platform. He quickly stepped around it to find Kip on her knees and breathing hard. Small tears were emerging from her tightly closed eyes and slowly rolling down her cheeks. Fletch asked, "What happened?"

Kip made no response, nor any indication that she had heard him. Fletch heard Jay coming up from behind him, "Fletch! Kip! What happened?" Fletch just shook his head in confusion. The two of them helped Kip to her feet and half-carried her back to the couch that they had been hanging around since the beginning of the tournament.

"Where's Tyson?" Fletch asked, as Tyson wasn't waiting for them, nor was he anywhere nearby.

"He's telling Ray about the battle," Jay said, then he repeated his former question, "What happened?"

Kip still made no response. With his eyes still on Kip, he said to Jay, "I don't know, Jay. I really don't know."


	13. Chapter 13: Lone Hunter

Chapter 13: Lone Hunter

Kip seemed to have recovered a bit, but still hadn't spoken a word. She was breathing normally, but still looking a bit dazed and confused.

Tyson came back after a few minutes. "What's wrong with Kip?"

Fletch answered, "She hasn't spoken since our battle."

Tyson looked at Jay, "Jay, can you see anything?"

Jay closed his eyes, reading Kip's mind. He shook his head. "Her thoughts are cluttered. The only thing I can understand is… she thinks… someone was in her head."

"Someone?"

Jay opened his eyes, "Yeah, but she has no definite idea of what happened. Just thoughts and guesses."

"What did Ray say?" Fletch asked.

Tyson sat down, "He said that he has no explanation for what happened, and he would normally organize a rematch, but instead, Fletch will be declared the winner since Kip can't battle for the time being."

Fletch sighed, knowing that Kip should have been the true winner.

Tyson said, "Besides, Fletch, she wouldn't be able to win the tournament anyway." Fletch looked at him in question. Tyson continued "Ronnie from Darclaw will probably be in the final match, and he has battled her so many times that he knows her weakness. Her battle style is the only way she knows how to win, and Ronnie knows exactly how to counter it. You, on the other hand, haven't battled him very much, if at all, and he has no idea what you're going to do. You have a chance."

Fletch couldn't find the words to say, so he just kept quiet. He glanced at the stats for his next opponent:

Name: Angel

Age: 19

Team: Lone Hunter

"Lone Hunter…" Fletch read. Angel was apparently not part of any team. "Jay, can you find her?"

Jay sat back and closed his eyes. He scanned the room mentally, and found Angel quickly. He opened his eyes, and informed Fletch, "She's good. Really good. She's won each of her battles with perfection, not taking a single hit."

"Huh? How?"

"That's the best part. She knows her power. She's just like everyone else, though; she hasn't told anyone."

Tyson was listening intently, and asked, "What can she do?"

Jay closed his eyes again, shook his head, then said, "I can't tell. It's not on her mind right now."

Fletch stood up, ready for his battle, "Well, then there's only one way to find out."

"If Kip recovers and you want help in the battle, just think it, and we'll be there. That is, if Kip even comes back to reality in time."

"Thanks Jay, but I doubt I'll want it or need it."

Jay shrugged, "Well, we're here if you need us."

Fletch nodded, then went over to his battle platform. Angel arrived only seconds after, and Fletch was taken aback. She was wearing the same white clothes that the scientists in the lab were wearing, which contrasted greatly with her dark-purple hair. "You're a scientist?"

She smirked, and said, "Full-time scientist, part-time bounty hunter. You ready?"

Fletch detected an unusual sense of confidence in her voice, but he nodded. She nodded back, and they both dove into the holoseum. Just as Fletch left the conscious world, he heard Jay calling from behind him, "Fletch, she…!" but then Jay's voice was shut out. Whatever it was, it sounded urgent, but Fletch would never know what Jay was trying to say. All he could do was figure it out in battle. And figure it out, he most definitely would. Angel was extremely confident, and for good reason.


	14. Chapter 14: Angelic Image

Chapter 14: Angelic Image

Fletch pictured Angel to be one who would use an Ariel Beauty model, so he planned out the same strategy and customization that he had used against Kip: Freeze Bomb, 3-Way Gun, Spider Pod. Satisfied, he entered the holoseum quickly.

Angel was still in cube form, and so Fletch started the battle with a Freeze bomb, surprising himself with how quickly he was able to use his left hand. The bomb made Angel's cube take Robo form, frozen in place, but almost as soon as the bomb landed, even before Fletch could make out what Angel's Robo model was, the holoseum started acting silly. The walls shifted positions, moving and bending randomly, the floor tilted, the colors of the holoseum blended and swirled, and Angel's Robo blurred out of focus. Fletch's head began to hurt, and he felt very dizzy.

Fletch took a moment to clear his head, and the holoseum returned to normal. He raised his arm to fire his Three-Way at Angel, but stopped. He was aiming not at Angel, but at Kip. Angel's Robo was dark-purple, that much Fletch was able to make out before. But the Robo that stood before him was a light blue Milky Way Ariel Beauty, the same color as Kip's. It even had the same customization that Kip had when he had battled her before. Even when she spoke, her voice matched Kip's. "Fletch…"

"Kip? What's going on?" Fletch never got an answer. Kip quickly raised her arm, smirking almost evilly, and fired a very fast bomb at Fletch. In his daze, Fletch couldn't think fast enough to react, and the bomb hit him back violently. He landed on his feet, miraculously, and realized what was happening, "An illusion! You can make illusions!" Kip's Robo smirked again, then transformed into another Robo that Fletch recognized immediately. "Wade…" Fletch fired his Three-Way quickly, but Wade's illusion simply disappeared, and the blasts hit the wall behind him harmlessly. "Huh?"

Fletch was then knocked over from behind by another Robo. Angel had used Wade's image as a diversion while she went around and jumped Fletch from behind. She pounced on him, disabling his systems, then jumped away quickly. Fletch barely got a glimpse of her Robo: It wasn't an Ariel Beauty, after all. It was a dark-purple Trick Flyer, Buggy model. Almost as soon as she jumped away, though, she disappeared into thin air. Fletch got up as fast as he could, but then the holoseum started acting up again. The walls moved around, and the colors swirled. Fletch became dizzy. The next thing that hit him was a body slam from an invisible Angel. He was slammed against a wall that didn't appear to exist.

Fletch was utterly confused and frustrated. He blindly fired his Three-Way, hoping to land a few hits, but nothing made contact. His vision was blurred, and the walls kept moving around on him. He had trouble keeping his balance, and to top it all off, he couldn't see Angel anywhere. He saw a fist right in front of him, but he only saw it as it was making contact with his face. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He was knocked against the wall again and slumped to the floor, disabled again.

His energy was low, while Angel's was still high. He was dizzy, hallucinating, and trying to stand against an opponent that he couldn't even see. He felt lost, confused, and frustrated. He thought to himself, hoping someone would hear, "Jay, Kip, if you're out there, this would be a really good time to do something."

He waited a few moments for an answer. Nothing happened. He was alone.


	15. Chapter 15: Salvation

Chapter 15: Salvation

Fletch's focus wasn't improving. He was seeing double, hallucinating, dizzy, and losing badly. He blindly fired with his Three-Way, sweeping across his spinning field of vision, and for the slightest moment, the holoseum started to come back into focus, but it quickly reversed and retained its distortion.

Angel's voice echoed in the holoseum, but Fletch didn't know where it came from. It was like surround sound. "You're the first one to have landed even a slight hit on me in a while. I'm impressed, but unfazed. You're losing, and you know it.

Fletch thought to himself as loudly as he could, "Jay, Kip, help would not be minded now!"

Almost as if someone had come through for him, the holoseum instantly came into focus. The walls returned to their original positions, and the colors became stable. All illusions in Fletch's head were gone, and Angel was standing barely a few feet in front of him, looking straight at him, but didn't seem to acknowledge his presence. They were both quiet, then Angel made very soft grunting whispers, like she was pushing against something heavy. "Uhh… Ah… Rrrr… Wha… What… are you doing…?"

Fletch, also not knowing what was going on, put his gun to her head. "Taking this victory." He fired. Angel took all twelve shots in the head and was knocked back, but stayed on her feet. Fletch fired again, but Angel made no move to dodge. She took the middle stream of shots in the stomach and was knocked over, disabled. He fired a freeze bomb at her fallen form, freezing her on the ground, while firing his Three-Way at her again.

Angel recovered very slowly, and as soon as she was on her feet, Fletch fired again. This time, though, she jumped over the shots, her High Jump Legs giving her an extra vertical boost. Her jump was clumsy, contrary to what Trick Flyers were supposed to be like in the air. She actually seemed somewhat absent-minded while she was airborne. From the air, she fired a Straight-G bomb down at Fletch, but her aim was so off that he had no trouble side-stepping and avoiding the blast.

Angel landed hard and clumsily, her legs having no descent augmentation available. She stumbled and fell forward. Before she could get up, Fletch did a quick dash and did a punt-like kick on her stomach, hitting her a few feet into the air. He dashed again and double-fist-hammered her airborne Robo forward with such force that she broke clear through a wall. Not one of those breakable walls that shatter after being hit with gunshots. A solid wall that is not meant to be broken.

Fletch was surprised by his power, but had no time to think about anything but the battle. He was on a hit streak, and he couldn't let it end. He jumped over the wall and saw Angel's fallen, battered, and disabled Robo on its back on the other side. At the peak of his jump, he dropped his Three-Way gun so to free up his striking hand. He didn't activate his legs' descent augmentation, so he dropped on her like a rock, driving his fist downward into Angel's chest. Her Robo's armor broke under the immense force, and a constant stream of sparks flew from the shattered metal. Electric surges ran from where Fletch had broken through down her arms, legs, and up to her head.

Angel screamed in pain, even though Fletch had his safety switch activated on his Robo. Fletch was taken aback, not knowing how he could have hurt her with the switch on. Safety switches prevented Robos and their commanders from taking real physical or mental damage during battle, and were used mainly for recreational purposes. Fletch stepped back and waited for Angel to show signs of recovery, but she didn't. She was no longer screaming, but she appeared to be gasping for breath, coughing dryly, and she sounded like she was crying softly, though Fletch couldn't tell for sure since Buggy models had no visible face.

"Please… I- I give up…" She said weakly, then coughed again. Fletch was speechless. He had no idea what he had done, nor how to reverse it. Angel said again, "I give up… just … just please stop!" and then she fell silent.

They both came back to reality, and Angel was already being tended to by the other scientists. They put her unconscious body on a stretcher and carried her out of the room. Fletch was at a loss for words, much less any explanation for what had happened. He felt a tap on his shoulder. "Fletch?"

He recognized the voice as that of Ray, the head scientist. Fletch turned slowly to face him. "What happened?" Fletch asked.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing."

Fletch was quiet for a moment, then said, "I… I honestly have no idea."

Ray was calm, then he said, "Tell me everything that happened."

"Well… I had my safety chip on, but I hurt her somehow, and-"

Ray interrupted him, "No, no. Tell me everything in chronological order from the beginning."

Fletch hesitated for a moment, "Um… as soon as the battle started, I felt… dizzy."

"Dizzy?"

"Yeah. The room was spinning, the walls were moving around, and I couldn't focus on anything. I was just hallucinating insanely, and I wasn't even hitting her once while she was attacking me fiercely."

"She was putting illusions in your head?"

"I don't know if it was her. Then everything came back to normal, and she stopped fighting for some reason."

Ray didn't need to hear anymore, but he seemed somewhat exited, "All right, thanks. You can go back to your station and await your next battle. Tell your boss, Tyson, that I'd like to speak with him." And with that, Ray walked off.

Fletch was confused as to why Ray didn't want to hear about him hurting Angel through his safety switch. He shrugged it off and went back to the usual couch. He first informed Tyson, "Ray wants to see you."

Without a word, Tyson nodded, got up, and walked off. Kip was lying on the couch with her eyes closed, asleep. Her breathing was normal, and she wasn't sweating anymore. Jay wasn't in his usual head-back-eyes-closed position. Instead he was upright and seemingly alert. "Fletch, what did you do to her?"

Fletch still had no explanation for what had happened to Angel. "I… I don't know. I was losing badly, then I was winning incredibly. The tables turned so suddenly." He paused. "Do you know anything more than I do about what just happened?"

Jay shook his head, "All I know is that the exact same thing happened to both Kip and Angel. It may have differed a bit in terms of results for them both, but the same exact thing invaded and disrupted their minds. I'm sure of it."

"But what's causing it?"

Jay looked afraid to answer. "I don't know for sure, but… well… the only things that Kip and Angel have in common, besides their gender, is that they have both battled you and suffered the same effect."

Fletch looked down at Kip, feeling very guilty for what he had done to her. Before he could even ask a question, Jay answered it, "She's fine. She's asleep, and her dreams are regular. She should be completely recovered shortly."

Fletch sat down next to Kip's head. He stroked her hair ever so gently once, "That's good." He paused for a moment, thinking, then whispered to himself, "What is happening?"


	16. Chapter 16: Awakening

Chapter 16: Awakening

Kip opened her eyes, but then quickly closed them. Fletch noticed, and said with exitement, "Kip?" Kip slowly started to open her eyes again, but closed them again quickly. She stirred a bit, but not much.

She muttered, "Mmmm… wake up- yep… it's time to wake up. C'mon, Kip… mmmm… wake up…" then settled back down into a comfortable position.

Jay asked, "Well, do you want to open your eyes?"

Kip shook her head, eyes still closed, "Nope. Don't want to."

"… How come?"

"Because every time I open my eyes, the room starts to act silly… going 'round in circles and jumping up and down and leaning and everything on me… so I'll just lay here, half-awake, half-asleep…"

Both Jay and Fletch were puzzled. Fletch asked, "Are you OK?"

Kip shrugged, "Call it what you like. I'm alive if that's what you mean."

Fletch started to worry because she hadn't smiled at all. "… Do you want to smile like you usually do?"

"Yep."

"… Well why don't you?"

"… Nobody asked me." All three of them were silent for a few seconds, then Kip sat up suddenly and smiled in her usual way, and giggled hysterically, "Hehehe! I'm just kidding, I'm fine!"

Fletch breathed a sigh of relief, "Please don't do that to me again!"

Kip smiled again, "Oh come on! Can't you take a joke? Hehe!"

Jay spoke up, "Kip, we were worried about you. You can't really expect us to take a joke like that so lightly."

Kip sighed, "Ok, I'm sorry. But admit it, you know I gotcha!" She smiled again.

Fletch smiled back at her, "All right, I admit it. Really, though, are you OK?"

Kip kept her smile on her face, unfading, "Yeah, I'm fine. I fell like nothing ever happened."

"What exactly i did /i happen?"

Kip was about to answer, but Jay answered quicker, "She has no idea. She was confused… in pain… she-"

"Jay, stop reading my mind!"

Jay continued, not seeming to hear her, "…she felt helpless… she felt cheated… she thinks… Jay… Jay is a numbskull… Jay is a numbskull… Ja…"

Fletch broke out laughing, and Jay stopped abruptly, wearing a very nervous expression on his face, "Ahhh… and I hope I didn't just say that out loud…"

Kip was giggling uncontrollably, "Hehehehehe! You shouldn't open your mouth and let my mind move your tongue."

Jay sat back on the couch, "Sorry. I'll try to refrain in the future."

Fletch rolled his eyes, "Try?"

Jay smirked, "Yup. Try!" Kip smiled again.

Tyson came back to the others, a stern look on his face. Jay was first to speak, "What's up, chief?"

Fletch wasn't sure what it was, but something about the question seemed awkward. Tyson ignored Jay and adressed Fletch, "Fletch, you're in the semifinals now. The two matches are being held in a different room over there. Good luck, buddy!" Tyson pointed to a door across the room labelled Employees Only.

Fletch heard Kip's voice in his head, "I'll se if we can go too so we can help you out." Then heard her verbally ask Tyson, "Can we come too? Just to watch?"

Tyson grinned, shrugged, and said, "I don't see why not."

Fletch broke in, "Wait! I don't want help."

Jay and Kip at the same time said, "What?"

Fletch continued, "I have been helped by somebody in three of my four battles so far, so I've only had a chance to battle for real once. I want to prove to myself and to you guys that I can do this by myself. Please, just stay here and let me do this alone."

Kip complied quite willingly, "OK, that's fine," and smiled at him.

Jay on the other hand didn't seem so willing, "Oh come on! You may need the help. Right now nothing's more important than getting the chip so that we can take out the Ultimatum."

Tyson agreed with Jay, "He's right. If you win the tournament with help, you'll have time to prove yourself afterwards i and /i you'll have the chip, so you'll stand a chance."

Fletch shook his head stubbornly, "No you guys. I don't want help, whether I need it or not." He paused and thought for a bit. Then, even though he couldn't put any reason behind it, he said, "Well… never mind. Tyson's right. I can use your help." He shook his head again, remembering his initial reason for wanting to go in alone. He felt torn and undecided between wanting solitude in battle and asking for help. He promptly yelled, "Wait, no! I want to go in alone! I don't want any help! Stay out of it!" Before he could change his mind again, he got up quickly, ran to the room where his battle would be held, and slammed the door quickly behind him as if trying to lock out a pursuer. His confusion vanished, as if he had never even considered asking for help in the first place.


	17. Chapter 17: Whose Destiny Was Taken

Chapter 17: Whose Destiny was Taken

Fletch was now thinking clearly. He was positive that he didn't want any help. The three other semi-finalists were already in the room, and were startled by Fletch's sudden entry. Ray was waiting as well, his expression seeming somewhat impatient. The three other finalists were Ronnie, of course, a kid in a wheelchair, and a policeman.

Ronnie looked surprised at seeing Fletch there. "Fletch? How'd you get up this far?"  
Fletch just looked back at him, pretending to be just as surprised, and said sarcastically, "Ronnie? They let an intolerant team like Darclaw through the doors?"

Ronnie's eyes narrowed, "Fletch, I was never against allowing you to join Darclaw. It was completely Wade's call. Don't hold it against me."

"You were just as critical as him."  
"But not as destructively much so. I was being supportively critical."

"But you still had no objection to Wade's decision. If you're trying to get me to retry getting into Darclaw, forget it. I've already found a team, and I'm sticking with it."

"OK, if you don't want to be with Darclaw, you want to make your career with another team, fine! I'm going to have to live with that. But not with Slash."

Fletch was quiet for a moment, confused, "… What?"

Ray glanced at Ronnie out of the corner of his eye, but unnoticed by the finalists. Ronnie quickly looked around the room, "… Never mind. If you don't know yet, you'll find out."

Fletch was tired of getting confused by everyone, "Whatever, just… just drop it for now," and leaned against a wall.

Seeing as all conversation was over, Ray spoke, "Congratulations to the four of you on reaching the semi-final match. As a reward for making it this far, you will each be given a Robo voucher to use in any Robo Cube Store within two train rides of the lab dome. Take my advice and don't use it on a Robo Cube from the lab's gift shop. They're cheap and completely unaugmented. You can use the voucher for a custom-made design, an expensive design, or a regular design. It's all up to you.

"You have probably noticed that the battles in the main room were going by faster than you are all used to, correct?" Everybody nodded. Ray continued, "That is because we decreased the initial energy levels of competing Robos in order to reach the finals quicker. The holoseum we have in here will not do that. You will all be at full energy capacity in the following battles, so the matches will take longer and be more decisive.

"Now for the matches. The first match will be between Ronnie and Sammy." Ronnie and the kid in the wheelchair approached the holoseum. They didn't speak to each other, and they dove into the holoseum for their battle. Fletch and the policeman would be the second match.

Fletch introduced himself to the cop, "I'm Fletch."

The cop looked back at him. From his expression, Fletch expected him to say, "…So?" but the look quickly changed to a friendlier gaze. "I'm Nick."

"I thought only bounty hunters were in this tournament. What are you doing here?"

"It was supposed to be that way at first, but I have a reason for being here." He expected Fletch to respond, but when he didn't, Nick asked Ray, "Ray, since the UM is no longer a secret…"

Ray answered before he could finish, "You may tell him,"

Nick nodded and spoke again to Fletch, "The UM was meant to be given to the police and to be manned by only one commander. I was the one chosen to receive it. It was my future, and I feel it's my duty to bring it back or destroy it. If I can't have my destiny, nobody can. My only chance at defeating the UM is by getting the chip to match it."

"Uh-huh… So you're, like, the champion of the police?"

"That's why I'm going to win this. I was meant to receive it, and now I'm meant to retrieve it."

Ray cast another glance out of the corner of his eye at Nick, but then looked away quickly.

Fletch continued the conversation, "It must be hard to accept having your purpose taken right before your eyes."

"I haven't accepted it! I won't accept it!"

"I rest my case." Fletch leaned against the wall, thoughts going through his head.

Everything had been happening so fast since he had gotten involved with Spearhand. The unique powers of commanders, the unfair victories against Kip and Angel, the thoughts that weren't his after Kip awoke. It was all just so baffling.

Jay's voice in his head interrupted his thoughts, "Fletch, Ronnie's winning really badly. You've really got your work cut out for you."

Fletch thought back, "I'm more worried about Nick at the moment. Can you tell me anything about him?"

Kip's voice this time, "I thought you didn't want help."

"Not in the battle, but I never said I wouldn't mind some foresight."

Jay was silent, then his voice returned, "He doesn't know his ability or that he even has one… he uses… ah, dang. His thoughts are drifting too much. He's not focusing on anything, so I can't read him."

Kip's voice again, "Sorry Fletch."

Fletch thought back to them, "It's OK. Just knowing you guys are there to support me is enough. Thanks."

Jay said, "Hang on… in the police, he's… he's a hacker tracker."

"You mean he searches out computer hackers?"

"I don't know. That's just something that passed through his head… Oh, Ronnie just won. You're up, Fletch!"

He was right. As if on cue, Ronnie and Sammy both came back to reality. Ray thanked Sammy for his time and dismissed him, telling him to receive his Robo voucher from Ray's assistant outside. Sammy wheeled his way out of the room in dismay.

Jay's voice was in Fletch's head again, "Well… that's cool…"

Fletch thought in response, "What is?"

"Sammy's power is added strength in his legs. He spent most of the battle using kicks."  
"But he can't use his legs in real life, so… Hmmm…"

Ray broke Fletch's thought process, "Fletch, Nick, you're up."

Kip sent one last thought to Fletch, "Good luck, Fletch."

Although her voice was in his head, Fletch could tell that she was smiling.


	18. Chapter 18: Who is Worthy

Chapter 18: Who is Worthy

Fletch knew that Nick was going to be tough. Being a policeman, Nick would be strong enough to have earned a Class-A license, be chosen to receive the Ray UM, and make it this far in the tournament already. It wasn't going to be easy bringing him down. On top of that, Fletch didn't know what kind of Robo or weapons Nick was going to use in battle, and he didn't have Kip or Jay to help. Fletch was also afraid that Nick might come to the same end that Kip and Angel had. He hesitated at the thought.

Nevertheless, he stepped up to the battle platform and prepared to dive. "Wait…" Nick said. "You look familiar…"  
Fletch raised an eyebrow, "How so? I've never seen you before."  
Nick shook his head, "Never mind. Let's battle."  
Fletch was tired of being confused like this, "No, wait! Where have you seen me before?"  
"I don't know. It's just a feeling."  
"Where?" Fletch demanded.  
"I really don't know. If I remember, I'll tell you, OK?"  
Fletch sighed, "Fine. Let's battle."

With that, they both dove into the holoseum platform. Fletch had absolutely no idea what to choose for his weapons, even though his options were extremely limited. All he had was his Gatling, Three-Way, Vertical, and Standard guns, a Tomahawk-G, Straight-S, Freeze, and Standard bombs, and Spider, Diving, and Standard pods. He just decided randomly on an all-around customization: Gatling, Straight-S, and Spider. He wasn't about to use his standard weapons. They were too weak.

Fletch entered the holoseum in cube form, and when he took Robo form, he had not been attacked, but Nick wasn't anywhere to be seen, much less be attacked. Fletch listened, looked around, and held his Gatling gun at the ready, but nothing in the holoseum stirred. It was all quiet.

Fletch heard something like a swish behind him and turned. Nothing was there. He heard what sounded like an electrical current to the side, and he turned again, but still saw nothing. He darted his gaze around in all directions, but still saw nothing. He then stopped when something peculiar caught his eye. Though nothing was moving, the air in front of him seemed distorted. It was like there was a disturbance in the space that made the image of the wall behind it seem wavy.

It took Fletch a while to recognize the distortion, and surprised as he was when he realized what it was, he quickly raised his Gatling to shoot. He wasn't quick enough. The distortion moved, and part of what was Nick's Robo seemed to appear out of nowhere, and he already had his own weapon raised.

Fletch felt an electric shock run through him, and his computers were instantly shut down. He collapsed onto his back, and Nick stood over him. The rest of Nick's Robo appeared, decloaking. It was a unique design that looked faintly like a blue Halberd. Same build and same size, but it had appendages that looked like blades on its arms and legs. They weren't sharp or for fighting with, they were just for appearance and to give some distinction from a normal Halberd.

Nick had a Stun gun in each hand. They were short-range weapons, but they were strong and instantly disabled any Robo computers. Nick quickly knelt next to Fletch and jammed both of his electric weapons onto Fletch's disabled Robo, draining his energy quickly and at a constant rate. Fletch's computers came alive again and he reached up to push Nick's arms away, but Nick wouldn't budge. Fletch wasn't being deactivated again because Robos have a slight period of immunity to being disabled after reactivating.  
Nick smirked, "My guns connect magnetically and won't separate or stop once they've attached and started draining your energy. There's nothing you can do."

Fletch was disabled again, and voices echoed in his head. He heard Tyson, "…your arm…", Kip, "Every commander has their own special ability…", Dean, "That was a quick battle…", Jay, "What did you do to her?", Angel, "Please stop! I give up!", Jay, "He uses his feet in battle…" Then images started appearing like a collage: Angel breaking through a wall, then her Robo nearly being destroyed, himself raising his arm shakily to aim a shot, Kip ducking a punch instead of blocking it… More voices echoed…

Through the echoes and images that he was hearing in his head, Fletch reached up and grabbed Nick's arms with both hands. He strained his own arms to get Nick off, but Nick wouldn't budge. Fletch's energy was leaving him at a fast rate, but something told him he shouldn't give up. The voices were telling him something, but he had to figure out what before his energy was drained completely.


	19. Chapter 19: Unveiled Strength

Chapter 19: Unveiled Strength 

Fletch reactivated again with a slight period of immunity to being disabled. He tried to kick Nick off, but his feet wouldn't reach far enough to the side to make contact with Nick. The voices in Fletch's head would not stop echoing. It was like they were telling him something, "Sammy's power is in his feet," "But he's in a wheelchair," "How'd you break through your safety switch?" Fletch then came to sudden realization of what the message of his memories was.

He grabbed Nick's arms again. Nick took no worry and continued his constant attack with his dual Stun Guns. Fletch suddenly felt a rush of power to his arms. His left arm now felt just as moveable as his right, and both arms felt stronger than he had ever thought possible. He felt like there was nothing he couldn't move with his new strength, and his first test case was Nick.

Fletch pushed Nick away. Nick was surprised, but tried to keep his attack going. Fletch was pushing him off, and the magnetic attraction between Nick's guns and Fletch's Robo was stronger than his own grip on them. Nick was forced to release his weapons as Fletch threw him back fiercely into a wall. Fletch had found his power: His strength was in his arms.

The inactive Stun guns dropped to the ground at Fletch's feet. Fletch noticed that his own weapons weren't in his hands. He saw them on the ground behind him, as he had unwittingly dropped them upon receiving Nick's first attack. He didn't need them anymore, though. He didn't need anything but his newly strengthened arms.

Nick reactivated, but didn't move. He saw his own weapons at Fletch's feet, and knew that he wouldn't be able to defeat Fletch if he didn't get them back. Nick employed his Robo's primary quality: He vanished.

Fletch watched the distortion that Nick had become. Nick wasn't moving. Fletch walked towards him almost passively. Nick quickly dashed at him, reappearing as he did so.  
Nick's Robo wasn't like any other Strike Vanisher. He had it custom-made to where its vanishing capabilities were much different. Rather than vanishing when he dashed, the Robo could become invisible whenever Nick wasn't moving. When he moves, the invisibility automatically shuts off.

Nick swung a punch at Fletch, hoping to get past him, but Fletch caught Nick's arm in one hand and held a firm grip. Nick knelt in pain because of the strength with which Fletch was squeezing his arm, "Aaahhh!" Nick tried to pull away, push off of Fletch, and pull his arm free with his other hand, but Fletch wasn't letting go. He only gripped tighter.

Nick could feel his Robo's armor beginning to crack under the pressure, and frantically swept his leg in a low kick, knocking Fletch's feet out from under him, but not causing him to loosen his grip.

Fletch felt his strength was limitless, and he knew that he could crush Nick's arm like crumpling paper, but he'd rather not cause Nick the pain.

"Do you yield?" Fletch asked.

Nick heard a crack form in his arm as his armor started to crumple. "You're breaking my arm!"

Fletch squeezed harder, and Nick heard and felt more cracks forming in his arm. Fletch asked again, "Do you yield?"

Nick knew he couldn't escape Fletch's incredible strength, and the pain was too much for him to bear any longer, not to mention his Robo was being damaged severely. He gave up, "Yes, yes! You win! Just let go!"

Fletch released his grip. Nick's arm had finger-grip imprints where Fletch had been gripping. He had broken through his safety switch again.

They returned to reality, and Nick was still conscious, to Fletch's relief. "You OK, Nick?" Fletch asked. Nick sat down in a chair and put his head in his hands. He was frustrated that he had just given up in the semi-final match and lost the chance to regain his stolen future. His destiny had been taken out of reach once again. "What a sorry way to go." Nick was borderline on breaking into tears, but he maintained his composure.

Ray dismissed him, "The receptionist at the desk outside will give you your Robo voucher. Thanks for competing."

Nick nodded sadly, "Thanks for giving me another chance… I guess." He looked at Ronnie and Fletch, said, "Good luck," to nobody in particular, and left without another word.

Fletch looked down at his right hand. He flexed it. The strength he had felt in battle was gone, but he felt it lay dormant inside himself, ready to be unleashed against Ronnie in the coming battle.


	20. Chapter 20: He Holds the Answers

Chapter 20: He Holds the Answers 

Ray allowed the two finalists to take a break for a few minutes and prepare for their final battle. Fletch talked with Jay and Kip about what had happened in the battle.  
Jay said, "He didn't know his ability. Invisibility was a power of his Robo, not himself."

"Still, it's a cool thing to be able to do," Kip commented, then added, "I do kinda feel sorry for him, you know?"

Jay changed the subject, "On the other hand, Fletch, you discovered your power! Strength in arms, huh? Cool!"

Fletch, "The best thing about it is that it means that I'm not the one who caused whatever happened to Kip."

"The bad part is, now we have no clue who's responsible."

"Well, it's better than thinking Fletch is, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Well, we shouldn't worry about that right now. As long as nobody else enters that room, Fletch, it won't happen again."

"How do you know that?"

"If the one who's doing it were there, they wouldn't have let Nick attack for so long. They would have made it a lot easier for you to win."

"OK. Well, if I can get Ronnie in the same hold I had Nick, I should be able to get him to surrender."

"In case you haven't noticed, Fletch, you won your last three battles because your opponents gave up."

"Well, it works."

"Yeah, but Ray might think your Robo is illegally upgraded, since it can break through safety switches."

"By the way, Jay, do you know how that's happening? How am I breaking through the protection of my safety switch."

"My guess would be that you're just overloading it with power. Your strength is so immense that the switch overloads and allows real damage to be done to your opponents."

"Sounds reasonable. Something's weird, though."

Kip inquired further, "What's weird?"

"When I was battling Nick, and I had my grip on him, I felt… like I had done it before."

"Done what? Grabbed Nick's arm?" Jay joked, but Fletch was serious.

"Yes. Before the battle, Nick said I looked familiar, then when we battled, I felt like I had seen his Robo before. His customization. Defeated him the same way, everything."

The three of them were quiet. Kip wished she could say something to make Fletch feel more secure, but none of them could think of an explanation.

"Something's going on," Jay said.

"I know," Fletch said.

Jay paused a moment, then said, "Ask Ronnie."

"Why?"

"Something's going through his head that may have the answer."

"Can you read exactly what it is?"

"Not at all. But he's thinking about you too much to not know anything. And he's worried."

Ray interrupted their thought conversation, "Ronnie, Fletch, take your places at the holoseum. We'll commence the final round of the tournament momentarily."

"Good luck," Kip said.

"Yeah, but get some answers, too," Jay added.

"I'll try. Thanks guys." Fletch stood across from Ronnie.  
Fletch was about to ask Ronnie openly what was going on, but Ronnie started off, "After how badly Wade beat you, I'm surprised you made it this far."

"Thanks Ronnie," Fletch said only half-heartedly, "Spearhand was a bit more willing to help than you guys at Darclaw were. About infinitely much so."

Ronnie shook his head slightly, "Spearhand, huh?" He sighed. "You really have forgotten everything, haven't you?"

"Look, Ronnie, I've been confused and bewildered ever since I entered this tournament. What's going on?" Fletch demanded. Ronnie looked puzzled, but Fletch could tell he wasn't really. "I know you have the answers, Ronnie."

A smirk emerged on Ronnie's face, "That I do. But you don't have the right questions for them."

Fletch thought, then sighed, "Why did Nick think I was familiar? Why was he familiar to me? What happened to-"

Ronnie interrupted him, shaking his head again, "No, no, no, Fletch. That's too specific. If I were to answer that, it wouldn't tell you anything. What do you want to know that can answer all your questions?" Fletch was silent. He had no idea what Ronnie wanted him to ask. Ronnie asked Ray, "Can you give us a moment?" Ray nodded, and Ronnie continued talking to Fletch, "How about I ask you a few questions first?"

Fletch sighed, "All right, fine. What do you want to know?"

"I already know the answers. I'm just giving you something to ask yourself."

"Ask away, then."

"Where were you this morning?"

"At Darclaw, where I got turned-"

Ronnie interrupted, "That's enough. Don't say more than you need. Where were you before you applied to Darclaw?"

"I was looking around for a team to join."

"Was Darclaw your first option?"

"No. I was turned down from-"  
Ronnie stopped him again, "Answer the question, nothing more."

"… Well… then no."

Ronnie nodded slowly, "When did you get your Class–D license?"

"Two weeks ago." Fletch knew these answers off the top of his head like he was being asked his own name. "Ronnie, this isn't helping. What are you getting at?"

"These are the things you know easily. Do you remember where you took your license test?"

"Yes. I went-" Fletch stopped himself this time.

"Do you remember waking up that morning?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember going to sleep the night before?"

"Yes."

Ronnie paused for a moment, "Do you really?" Fletch thought for a moment, then gasped when he realized that he couldn't remember. He was speechless, so he just shook his head. "How about when you first became interested in Robos?" Fletch shook his head again, not remembering. "Can you remember anything about who you were before the day you got your Robo license?"

"I… I don't… remember." Fletch was perplexed at why his memory just ended on the day he got his license. It was like there was nothing there. He looked down.

"The answers you seek lie beyond that barrier where your memory stops," Ronnie said. Fletch looked back up at him. "Do you want to know who you were before you forgot everything?"

"If I beat you, will you tell me? Will you tell me everything?" Fletch paused, then disdainfully added, "Please?"

Ronnie smirked again, "All right, but only if you beat me, and even then you might not want to know once I've told you."

"Deal than. Let's battle."

They dove into the holoseum. Fletch had a lot more than just a prize riding on this one.


	21. Chapter 21: The Countermeasure

Chapter 21: The Countermeasure

Upon beginning the customization of his Robo, Fletch realized something: He didn't know what kind of Robo Ronnie used. He felt even worse because he could have simply asked Jay. He shrugged it off and chose his weapons: Vertical Gun, Freeze Bomb, and Spider Pod. He confirmed his selections, then entered the holoseum.

His cube landed in a corner of the arena and activated into Robo form quickly. He started to dart his gaze around, but upon looking to his right, he saw Ronnie already swinging his hands from above for a physical attack. Fletch dropped his guns, raised his own hands, and grabbed Ronnie's arms to stop him. 

Ronnie was using a dark green Shining Fighter: Splendor model Robo. It was impressively built and polished to shine, but what struck Fletch the most was that Ronnie had no weapons equipped. He had entered the fight with no guns, bombs, or a pod. All he had was standard feet and his bare robotic hands.

He began to squeeze Ronnie's arms just like Nick's, and he felt the armor start to crush similarly as well. Ronnie felt what Fletch was doing with his immense strength, and gasped, "Huh?" Fletch, squeezing harder, asked as he had with Nick, "Do you yield?"

Unlike Nick, Ronnie maintained his composure. Rather than yell out in pain, he just held his position and barely even flinched. Slowly, his confused expression faded into a smirk. "You remember more than you think…" He said. Fletch tried to squeeze harder, but for some reason, he couldn't tighten his grip any more. He knew he wasn't using all his strength, but he couldn't squeeze any harder than he already was.

Then Fletch felt his grip actually loosen. It was like the strength from his arms was being sapped away. His very ability to hold on to Ronnie's arms seemed to be diminishing until it was almost gone completely. He no longer had his augmented strength, and Ronnie pulled his hands away effortlessly while stepping back. Fletch looked at his arms. He could now barely even hold them in front of him to look at. They felt floppy and weak, and he was forced to drop them to his side. Ronnie smirked again, and continued, "… but you still don't remember enough."

Outside the battle, in the main hall, Jay was watching Fletch's battle in his mind. Kip wasn't able to view it with him through any connection because she needed contact to see a holoseum battle, so she and Tyson were just waiting for it to end or for Jay to say something. But Jay was silent. He saw in Ronnie's mind exactly what he was doing. He wished he had known earlier so that he could have warned Fletch, but it was too late now. The worst part was that there was nothing he or anybody else could do to help.

Fletch's legs began to feel the same strength loss that his arms had, and they started to collapse beneath him. He knelt in his weakness, confused and panicky. Ronnie picked up the weapons that Fletch had dropped. Fletch heard Ronnie approach him, and he tried to look up to meet his gaze, but he couldn't. His neck was growing weaker as well.


	22. Chapter 22: There is Another

Chapter 22: There is Another

The battle ended as a complete shutout, Ronnie being the victor. Jay opened his eyes and brought his focus back to his own perception. Kip was about to ask how the battle ended, but the look on Jay's face answered for her. She knew Fletch had lost.  
Fletch came out of the room he was in within moments, a destroyed and frustrated look on his face. A receptionist handed him his promised Robo voucher, and he walked back over to the group. Jay didn't have to tell Fletch that Ronnie's power was to weaken his opponents; Fletch already figured that one out.

Jay was the first to say anything, "Sorry, man. That didn't look like a fair battle to me at all."  
Fletch sighed, "Well, I can't really say I play fairly either. I mean, look at what I did to Nick to win. And Kip. And Angel."  
Kip spoke up, "That doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that now Ronnie has the chip and Darclaw will probably get the bounty."  
Fletch responded, "That wasn't as important to me. I would have much rather heard what he knows about me."

Ronnie exited the battle room, and Fletch could see that he held in his hand a Robo voucher and a green Robo upgrade chip. His team congratulated him and shook his hand. "Go ahead and upload it, Ronnie," Wade urged him.  
Ronnie was about to plug the chip into his Robo cube, then stopped, "Wait… I can use my voucher to get a better Robo first."  
Otto nodded, "Good idea. You can get a custom-made one and use it instead of your current one."  
The three Darclaw commanders all agreed and headed out of the room.

Once the door had closed, Tyson spoke, "You can still find out."  
Fletch had forgotten where their conversation had left off, "What?"  
"There are more people who know about your past that can tell you."  
"Huh? Like who?"  
"Me."  
Jay, Kip, and Fletch all exclaimed, "What?"  
"I know as much as Ronnie knows about you, if not more."  
"How?"  
"That alone would tell you too much."

Fletch was silent, then said, "You mean you aren't going to tell me either?"  
"Fletch, believe me when I say you're not ready yet."  
Fletch was about to say something, but stopped. He thought about it. He thought, "Maybe Tyson knows what he's talking about. Maybe I'm not ready…" Fletch then realized that these weren't his thoughts. Without thinking, he said, "Jay, read his mind. What does he know?"  
Jay looked back at him and said, "No, Fletch. If Tyson says you aren't ready, you aren't ready. Whenever he says something like that, he knows what he's talking about."  
Fletch sighed, then heard Kip in his head, "Fletch, Tyson never says something like that unless he means it. Trust him."

"All right," Fletch said. "What do I have to do?"  
Tyson answered, "Get the chip back from Ronnie."  
"Huh? How am I going to do that?"  
"Challenge him to a rematch."  
"What? But I can't win against him. He makes his opponents weaken."  
"I'll tell you something that is linked to your past: You are the only commander in the world to ever have beaten him."

Fletch became interested, "What?"  
"Your power is added arm strength, correct?"  
"Yes."  
"And he has the power to weaken, right?"  
"Yeah."  
"You are the only one who can resist his power because you cancel it out with your own."  
"But why didn't that happen in the battle just now?"  
"The main reason is that you had weapons."  
"What's that got to do with it?"  
"I'm not sure, Fletch. All I know is that when you battled him without any weapons in the past, he could not weaken you. If you start the battle without any weapons and take him on hand-to-hand, you can win."

Fletch waited, then spoke, "Is that it?"  
"Yes, that is all you need to do."  
Fletch thought for a moment, "What about my legs? He weakened them too."  
"Like I said, I'm not sure. It just so happens that he can't weaken anything but your arms when you have no weapons. You will be able to fight like a regular Robo, but in physical combat rather than a gunfight."

Kip interjected, "Wait, if you know all this about what's happened in Fletch's past, you must have known before what Fletch's power was!"  
Fletch agreed, "Yeah, why didn't you tell me?"  
"Some things are best to find out by yourself. Like your past. I can't explain everything to the extent that you will understand it all. You have to remember the big things by yourself." Fletch said nothing. Tyson continued, "I can help you along the way, but the majority of the answers you seek you must find out on your own."

Jay raised his hand and said to Tyson, "Um, hope you don't mind me interrupting all this, chief, but-"  
"Actually, Jay, I do."  
"Too bad. How are we going to get Ronnie to even accept a rematch?" Everyone was quiet, waiting for someone else to give an answer. "I mean, what do we have that we can tempt him with?"

Fletch had an idea, not knowing where it came from, but he liked it anyway. "I'm the only one who can beat him, right?"  
Jay said, "According to Tyson."  
"I know what he wants from me."  
Jay read his mind and nodded, "Oh! Gotcha!"  
Fletch nodded back, "Jay, can you find Darclaw?"  
Jay closed his eyes for a few seconds, then said, "They're waiting for the next train."  
Fletch nodded. "Let's give this another try."


	23. Chapter 23: Second Chance

Chapter 23: Second Chance

Ronnie, Wade, and Otto were still waiting for the train by the time Fletch and the others caught up to them. "Ronnie!" Fletch called, bringing Ronnie's attention to his presence.  
Ronnie turned his head towards him and said, "If you're here to ask for a rematch, forget it. I have nothing to gain from it."  
"Oh, but you do," Jay said.  
"And what is that?"  
Fletch answered firmly, "If you win, I'll give you my Robo cube, commander's license, and vow never to command a Custom Robo again."

Ronnie raised an eyebrow, "And why would that interest me?"  
"Stop pretending. You know I'm the only one to have ever beaten you, and without me in your way, you'll be the most powerful commander in the world."  
Ronnie twitched slightly, but kept his composure, "So you're starting to remember?"  
"Yes. And if I can beat you this time, you hand over the Robo chip you just won."  
Ronnie took the chip out of his pocket and held it in his hand, obviously deep in thought. Wade said quietly to him, "Ronnie, you don't need to do this. Don't take him for this."

Ronnie looked up and said to Wade, "I'll do as I wish. This is a personal thing, Wade." He turned to Fletch, "I accept your challenge and your bet. You said earlier today that you learn a lot more from losing than you do from winning. Let's see how much you learned."  
Fletch nodded and activated his cube. Ronnie did the same, and their battle began. Fletch followed Tyson's advice and did not equip any weapons to his Robo besides standard legs. He was fighting weaponless.

Their two Robos activated in Ronnie's holoseum at the same time, and Fletch took a quick look at his surroundings. He could tell that the holoseum was meant for weaponless fights by its small size and the lack of any barriers. There were no obstacles and no objects that could be moved. It was just a barren floor with four walls. Ronnie had no weapons, and noticed Fletch was weaponless as well. "So you've remembered how you beat me the first time."  
Fletch said, "I guess you could call it that. Tyson's told me."  
"How much has he told you?"  
"As much as you've now assumed."  
"So he hasn't told you everything?"  
"No, but he has agreed to eventually. I assume he has good reason."  
"Fletch, do you want me to tell you everything? I can tell you right now everything that he will surely tell you. The sooner you learn, the better."  
"No, Ronnie. Tyson has told me that there is a reason he is not telling me everything, and I trust him."

Ronnie sighed, "Fletch, the only reason I can think of for his holding your past from you is that it is in his own interests. Somehow, he will use what you don't know against you." Fletch said nothing. Ronnie continued, "You can join Darclaw. I can persuade Wade to let you join us now, and I can tell you everything you need to know. It would be much better than you siding with Slash- I mean Tyson."  
Fletch had heard Ronnie mention the name Slash when they had battled before, and he asked Ronnie, "Why do you keep calling Tyson 'Slash'?"  
"Join us, and I'll tell you everything."

Fletch felt tempted, but upon thinking it through, he couldn't leave Kip, Jay, and Tyson after they had already done so much for him. "No. I'm staying with them. And we have a battle to fight."  
"All right, as you wish. We still have a bet, though."  
"I know."

Fletch felt Ronnie trying to weaken his arms again, but he was unable to do more than negate Fletch's excessive strength. They were both fighting with normal power levels. They dashed towards each other at the same time to commence their hand-to-hand fight.


	24. Chapter 24: Fists of Rivalry

Chapter 24: Fists of Rivalry

Fletch and Ronnie dashed towards each other, and a collision seemed inevitable, but Fletch quickly strafed to his right to avoid hitting Ronnie's sturdier Splendor Robo. Apparently, Ronnie had the same idea, and they had both executed the same side-step movement.

Fletch was the first to charge. He dashed at Ronnie for a shoulder smash, but Ronnie was already countering his attack. Ronnie crouched and kicked his foot straight out at Fletch's knees. Fletch's body kept moving forward, but his legs had been suddenly stopped, causing him to trip over Ronnie. As Fletch fell, Ronnie kicked upwards with his other foot, catching Fletch in the chest and knocking him onto his back.

Ronnie stood up and remained passive. Fletch rolled over, pushed himself back up quickly, and faced Ronnie. Ronnie sighed as if disappointed. "You still lack your old fighting skills."  
"What are you talking about? That was only the first attack!"  
"If you were able to fight like you used to, you wouldn't have been hit by my second kick."

Fletch didn't respond, but attacked again, this time with his fists. He struck high with one punch, then low with another, hoping to draw a block with the first to prevent Ronnie from blocking the second, but Ronnie read his actions again. Before Fletch had realized that his attacks had not hit, Ronnie had already blocked and grabbed both of Fletch's arms. Still holding on, Ronnie pulled his arms back and bashed his head against Fletch's, knocking him back again.

Fletch groaned in frustration. Ronnie was only toying with him. "You think too highly of yourself," Ronnie said to him.  
"Remind you of anyone?" Fletch kicked at Ronnie with a roundhouse kick. Ronnie grabbed it with both hands, then twisted Fletch's leg with such speed that his entire Robo spun in the air and then landed heavily on the ground. Fletch did not get up this time. Instead, he lay on the ground, incomprehensible thoughts running through his head.

He then heard Kip's voice, "Fletch, get up!"  
He thought back, "I can't beat him. He's too fast."  
"Too fast? Fletch, you're in a Robo battle! Your speed is controlled by your mind, not your physical ability."  
"What?"  
Jay spoke, too, "Come on, man! Your physical self doesn't exist here! He's just thinking faster than you are! Trust me, I know."  
"How is he thinking faster?"  
"Your thoughts aren't on the battle, they're on what will become of it. Don't think about what you want, don't think about what you're doing. Don't even think at all. Just react. If you fight with pure instinct, you can be faster than him."  
"Are you sure?"  
"If everything Tyson says is true, absolutely."

Ronnie put his foot on Fletch's chest, leaned over him and asked, as Fletch had before, "Do you yield?" with a hint of irony in his voice.  
Fletch replied with incredible determination, "I'd much rather fight to the end." He grabbed Ronnie's foot and pushed it straight up, causing Ronnie's knee to clock himself dead in the face. Fletch spun his body around, knocking Ronnie's other leg out from under him, then rolled backwards and stood up. Ronnie wasn't expecting such a quick attack and hit the ground hard.

Ronnie got up and faced Fletch. He had meant to say something, but Fletch rushed him before he could utter a word. Fletch kicked forward at him, but Ronnie caught his foot before it made contact. Acting solely on instinct, Fletch pushed downwards with his caught foot to bring his other one up and kicked Ronnie in the face, then turned it into a back-flip to recover and land on his feet. Ronnie stumbled back, again surprised.  
He smirked the slightest bit, "So you've remem-"  
Fletch interrupted him, "I don't want to hear it again!" and dashed at Ronnie again. He threw his right fist forward, which Ronnie blocked and grabbed, then his left fist, which was grabbed also. Ronnie threw his head forward to try and head-bash Fletch's face again, but Fletch leaned away, breaking Ronnie's grip, then jumped and kicked three times quickly, hitting Ronnie lightly with each kick. They both stepped back from each other.

Ronnie said, "Ready to fight for real now?"  
Fletch said back, "Ronnie, for all your self-confidence, we are both at the same energy level."  
"Right you are. So are we through warming up?"  
"I'm just getting started."


	25. Chapter 25: Act on Instinct

Chapter 25: Act on Instinct

Ronnie put his hands up in a sparring position, ready to engage in combat again. Fletch did the same, and for several moments, they just stood like that, each waiting for the other to make the first move. It wasn't clear who eventually attacked first, but in either case, they became locked in combat. They both executed quick attacks with their hands and feet, but also blocked any oncoming blows as well.

Grabs turned into tangles and had no effect for either of the two combatants. Every kick, every swipe, and every punch from the both of them was either blocked or dodged. Finally, Ronnie was able to get a good grip on Fletch's arm, tucked himself under and flipped Fletch over his back in a fireman's-carry throw. Fletch flipped with it and landed on his feet, unharmed, and twisted out of Ronnie's grip. Ronnie kicked at him but Fletch was already too far away.

Fletch quickly turned to face him. Ronnie made no movement to close the distance between them. Ronnie said, "It would seem that we are evenly matched."  
Fletch answered, "Yes it would. But one of us will wear out eventually."  
"Then this has become a test of endurance."  
"Indeed it has."

Again, the two rushed each other and continued their fight, neither showing signs of weakness. Again, a grab turned into a tangle, and they both held each other's wrists, both locking the other's arms. Amidst the tangle-up, Fletch asked, "Is this how it was before? When I first beat you?"  
"Uncannily similar."

They broke the arm lock and kept fighting. Fletch was surprised at how much his instinct was doing for him. He had never reacted so quickly or attacked and blocked in such rapid succession as he was against Ronnie. He was relying on instincts that he never remembered acquiring. He knew neither of them was getting anywhere because they were so evenly matched. Fletch knew he should be able to win, though.

Fletch focussed on clearing his head even more while still locked in combat with Ronnie. He thought of nothing, only letting his instinct do the fighting. He blocked out all sounds of metal clashing on metal. He almost completely blinded himself from what he could see except for Ronnie. Still he felt no advantage and was still unable to hit Ronnie. He numbed the feeling in his arms, hands, feet. His world was now noiseless, senseless, and darkened. Still Ronnie was untouchable.

Fletch dimmed the spectrum of what was left of his vision, disabling colors from his sight. Ronnie was gray-scaled, but still Fletch could not make contact. Lastly, Fletch gave up his ability to consciously think. He was no longer in control of what he was doing. His remaining sight dimmed as he allowed his instinct to overwhelm and block out his conscious mind. As everything went completely dark, he saw Ronnie actually start to move slower.


	26. Chapter 26: Success is Kindled

Chapter 26: Success is Kindled

Fletch woke back up on his back no longer in the holoseum. He felt like he had been whacked over the head with a wooden mallet and was just recovering from the blow. Kip, Jay, and Tyson were around him, and Kip was kneeling next to him. "You OK?" She asked.

Fletch sat up slowly with some help from Jay and Kip and held his head in one hand, still a bit dizzy, "I'm not quite sure." Jay moved to help Fletch stand, but Fletch motioned with his hand for him not to. Fletch was still trying to clear his head. He couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him, and he saw double of what was still in his sight range. The room felt like it was tipping on him, and he even had trouble sitting up straight without falling back. Fletch commented, "Wow… this is the wildest ride of my life."

Kip tried to help him, "Just try to relax. You'll be back to normal in a bit."

A thought came to Fletch, "Wait, this is same way I felt when Angel was making me hallucinate… I'm seeing double, the room is tilting, I'm dizzy-"

Jay cut him short, "No, it's not Angel. You're just suffering the aftereffects of anesthesia."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Pretty much what happened to you was self-induced anesthesia. I've never known it could be done with a Robo, but I guess it makes sense now. Your mind was put to sleep, so essentially, that's what happened to you."

"How long will it take for me to recover?"

"Shouldn't take too much longer."

As Fletch waited to recover, he asked, "So who won?"

Jay laughed "You beat the crud out of him! After your mind went away, you sped up so much, Ronnie couldn't even see you attacking!"

Fletch's visibility range had already begun to get better, and he could make out that Darclaw was no longer there. "Did Ronnie just run away with the chip?"

Kip held out her hand, "No, Ronnie was nice about it and left it with us to give to you."

Fletch looked down and saw that Kip had the chip in her hand. "Are you sure he didn't leave a fake?"

Jay answered, "I'm sure. I watched his thoughts the whole time, and I'm positive it's the real thing."

Fletch was quiet for a moment, "Did he say anything?"

Jay grinned a bit, "Nothing that he couldn't have gone without saying."

"Oh, gotcha." Fletch's head was beginning to clear significantly. He started to stand, and his dizziness was gone. He still felt a bit heavy in his limbs, but he was fine otherwise. Kip stood with him, still holding the chip in her hands for him to take. "Hold onto it for me, Kip. I want to get a new Robo first."

Kip closed her hand softly around it. She smiled, as she usually did, "I won't let anything happen to it."

Fletch smiled back, "Thanks."

Jay asked, "What kind of Robo do you want to get?"

Fletch thought for a moment, then said, "I've gotten used to Shining Fighter Models, so something of that class."

"Like a Splendor?"

Fletch smirked, "I'm thinking more along the lines of a Ray-01."

Jay seemed surprised, "Aren't those expensive? They've been the top-of-the-line Ray Robos since they were released, and that was, like, forever ago."

"Yes, they are expensive, but Ray told me that this voucher is good for any legal model in stores. The lab will pay for it, so I can get anything. And I'm choosing a Ray-01."

Tyson spoke for the first time in the conversation, "Let's go then. I've already got one reserved for you."

Fletch looked over at him and raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Jay echoed, "Yeah. What?"

Tyson said, "I have a custom-made Ray-01 model being prepared for you at a nearby store." Fletch started to say something, but Tyson stopped him, "There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

Fletch said, "No, not at all, but how did you know that's what I would want?"

Tyson turned as the next train pulled up, "The one I've reserved once belonged to you. Let's go." He stepped onto the train as it stopped to pick up passengers.

Kip, Jay, and Fletch looked at each other. Fletch shrugged and said, "All right. No problems here!" He boarded the train behind Tyson, and Kip and Jay followed.

As the train departed, Kip spoke to Jay with her mind, "Do you think Tyson had all this planned out before we even met Fletch?" Jay said nothing, unable to respond in his head, but he looked at her to indicate he had heard her. She added, "And how much more do you think he has planned?"


	27. Chapter 27: Apollo's Shop

Chapter 27: Apollo's Shop

The train stopped at the underground station of a very commercial dome colony: The Ray Robos Production Headquarters. There were no permanent residents; the population was all workers. Ray Robos were the ones responsible for the actual construction of the stolen Ray UM: Ultimatum, as well as the security vault that it had been held in and taken from. Robos made by the Ray Company had been the best Robos on the market since their first release. Though the UM was their greatest creation, the Ray-01 had been the best citizen-available Robo since it's public release after the fall of the second Rahu. It's fame was so great because it was the Robo that actually defeated Rahu the second time. The only Robos more powerful than a Ray-01 were illegal to use in battle, and were now only seen in museums or private collections with their battle systems gutted to disable their use. As a result, the Ray-01 was incredibly expensive, and most Robo commanders could not afford one. Simply using Robos for competitions or bounty hunting was just not a big moneymaker because it was so common an occupation in those times.

Fletch, however, wasn't concerned about the price. A Ray-01 was expensive, and with added customizations, it would be even more expensive, but his voucher could get him any citizen-buyable model he could find. Tyson guided Fletch, Kip, and Jay to a particular Robo store, of which there were many in the dome colony. It looked somewhat old, but not rusty or anything. The sign above the door advertised 'Apollo's Robo Garage: Customized Robos and Repairs.'

"Is this it, Tyson?" Fletch asked, a bit skeptical. He had expected it to be a more official looking building. This one looked more like a middle-class pawn shop

"Yes, this is it. This is also where my Robo was being repaired, so I'm going to pick it up while we're here."

"That's fine." Fletch nodded.

"Jay, Kip, I'm going to have to ask you two to stay out here, please."

Jay nodded, "Sure thing, Chief." He winked at Fletch, and Fletch smirked, knowing that Jay would still be able to watch what went on inside.

As Tyson walked in ahead of them, Kip spoke to Fletch's mind, "Fletch, aren't you even the slightest bit suspicious of something going on?"

Fletch looked over his shoulder at her, a serious look on his face, and he nodded silently, then turned and followed Tyson in.

It was a small shop with a mostly brown interior. The floors were imitation wood, as no living plants had ever grown since the first Rahu nearly destroyed the world. There was a fan on the ceiling, and a counter across from the doorway. Below the counter was a glass display case that had several different Robo cubes, as well as die-cast models of what they looked like when activated. Behind the counter was a door labeled 'Workshop,' which Fletch assumed was where all the repairs and specializations went on.

Fletch walked in behind Tyson, who was immediately greeted by the man behind the counter, "Tyson! Good to see you again, sir!"

Tyson waved lightly to him and said, "Good to see you too, Apollo. I'm here to pick up Fletch's Robo that I left here a while ago."

Apollo looked around him at Fletch, then nodded and said to Tyson, "Ah, yes. I've taken good care of it. Hold on one second, please." Apollo entered the workshop, then came back a few moments later with a blue Robo cube. As soon as Fletch laid his eyes on it, he couldn't take them off. Apollo set it gingerly on the table as if the slightest mistreatment would cause the cube to fall to pieces. Fletch took his Robo voucher out of his pocket to give to him, but Apollo waved him off. "No need to pay me in any way. It's yours. Tyson just had me hold it for you until you were ready to come back for it."

Fletch started to put it away, then thought to himself, knowing Jay would be listening, "Jay, do you or Kip want a new Robo?"

A few seconds later, after Jay had relayed the message to Kip, Kip answered to Fletch's mind, "No Fletch. There's no way I could part with my Robo, and Jay already has his own custom-made model. He doesn't need a new one."

Fletch was about to put the voucher back in his pocket when Tyson said to Apollo, "I'd also like to pick up my Robo, if the repairs are done."

Fletch put his voucher back on the table, "I'll use it to pay for Tyson's Robo's repairs. I don't need to keep it for anything"

"Oh, thanks Fletch." Tyson said appreciatively.

Apollo nodded and accepted the voucher this time, but instead of going back to the workshop, he punched in a code on a keypad behind the counter. There was a hissing of released compression, and a small door opened on the top of the counter. Apollo reached in and pulled out a black Robo cube and presented it to Tyson. Tyson thanked him and clipped it to his belt.

Fletch was about to take his Robo off the counter when Tyson said, "Fletch, you might first want to let Apollo tell you what upgrades it already has. He was the one who originally customized it, so he knows it front to back."

Apollo grinned, "That I do."

Fletch withdrew his hand, "All right, I'm listening."

Apollo began explaining, "This Robo was customized to be compatible with your added arm strength in battle. I made a special program upgrade for it. It takes the power from your arms and distributes it around to whatever other systems your Robo is using. It will increase your running and jumping ability, your firepower, your defenses, and anything else on your Robo. Since it has to distribute it all around, it's not an insane power boost like it used to be for your arms, but it noticeably augments anything you can do with your Robo. The power can also be redirected to any particular system rather than creating an even distribution if you so choose."

Tyson added onto that, "So you won't be able to crush your opponents with your bare hands, but you will still be stronger in general."

Fletch nodded, "That makes it a bit more fair for everyone, then. No problem."

Apollo continued, "You also have a battle-accessible computer system installed. It can show you all sorts of things on the inside of your visor when you are in battle. You can see your weapons list, remaining energy level, and it can identify and catalog enemy Robos and weapons, as well as provide a detailed description of any of those things. It can do more, but those are the basics of it. Mental action or verbal commands can activate any system on your Robo.

"Your Robo also has been modified with night-vision, sight magnification, thermal visor, automatic projectile warning, and reinforced plating on the forearm."

Fletch asked, "Why just the forearm?"

"Because that's the only place that you can put it while keeping it within legal bounds."

Fletch asked, "Is there anything else I should know?"

Apollo hesitated for a moment, then said, "Uhh… Well, yes as a matter of fact. Your Robo's history had to be erased when I took it in. So you have only standard weapons right now."

Fletch took the cube off the counter, "That's all right." He knew he could make up for the lack of weapons with the battle chip he had won. He clipped it to his belt, then took off his old Glory cube. He gave it to Apollo and said, "Keep this. I don't need it anymore."

Apollo could already tell that Fletch wasn't going to be swayed from this decision, so he accepted it. After bidding Apollo farewell, Tyson and Fletch exited the store, where Kip and Jay were waiting. Jay smiled and said, "All right, plug that chip in!"

Fletch took his new Robo off his belt and held it in his right hand. Since his left hand was disabled, he couldn't hold the cube in one hand and plug the chip in with the other, so he said, "Uhh… Kip? Could you help me with this?"

Kip smiled cutely and took the chip out of her pocket. She winked at Fletch, then plugged it into the Robo's upgrade slot. There was no sound or lights at first, but Fletch could tell that something was going on between the chip and the Robo. After a few moments, there was a small beep and the upgrade was complete. "Beep? That's it?" Jay said mockingly.

Kip giggled and Fletch shook his head while smiling. Tyson just rolled his eyes. Then Fletch heard a familiar, child-like voice, "I've found you at last Fletch!"

Fletch looked to see who it was, and rolled his eyes. "Oh, great. What does he want now?"


	28. Chapter 28: The Bighead Challenge

Chapter 28: The Bighead Challenge

The voice belonged to Tyler, Fletch's first opponent from the earlier tournament. But he wasn't alone. He was with several other kids that were all dressed similarly and apparently trying to look tough, though none of them were any older than Tyler, who was 11. They all had their arms folded, and Fletch could barely keep from laughing out loud. Kip just raised a confused eyebrow. Tyson's face was expressionless. Jay was the first one to say anything to them, "Do the day-care people really let you run freely like this, or did they just untie your for a field trip?"

Kip gave Jay a look, but Tyler spoke before she could say anything, "You won't walk away from this one Fletch. I've got you outnumbered!" Seeing Tyler say something like that with such confidence while looking up so steeply at the four of them made Jay burst out laughing. That, in turn, broke Fletch's ability to hold his own laughter back, and he laughed hopelessly as well. Kip just looked back and forth between the two of them. Tyler started to get impatient and yelled at them, "I didn't come here for you to laugh at me, so listen up!"

Fletch and Jay took a few moments, but were able to calm their laughter down. "OK, Tyler, what do you and your friends want?" Fletch asked.

"This is my team, the Bighead Boys, for your information. And I'm here to challenge you to a rematch!"

There was an awkward silence, then Tyler yelled again, "You're not supposed to just stand there, idiot! Say something!"

Fletch promptly asked, "Why?"

Now it was Tyler's turn to be silent. He really didn't know why he was asking for a rematch, other than it's what a character in a TV show would have done, but he wasn't going to say that. "It's none of your business! Are you going to accept our challenge or what?"

"I'm not going to fight all of you at once. You're right, I'm outnumbered." Fletch wasn't intimidated by Tyler, but still knew that he couldn't take on all of the Bighead Boys at once.

"I know you won't fight us. But we are challenging you in a different way!" Tyler proclaimed. Fletch just raised an eyebrow. Tyler continued, "We challenge you to a race!"

"… A race?" Jay raised an eyebrow as well.

Tyler rolled his eyes, "You guys don't really think fighting is the only way to use Robos, do you? Sheesh!"

Fletch said looked over at Tyson, an inquiring look on his face. Tyson just shrugged, indicating that they had nowhere they really needed to go right then. Fletch looked back at Tyler, "All right, fine. I'll race you. And since you have others with you, Jay and Kip are with me. But you don't get anything if you win."

Tyler, "I don't need anything but to prove that I'm better than you. Are you ready?"

Kip, Jay, and Fletch took out their Robo cubes, ready, but Tyson didn't. "Tyson? Are you coming?" Fletch asked.

Tyson grinned, "Oh, I'll let you three handle these kids. Besides, someone needs to stay out here in case something comes up."

Fletch shrugged, "Suit yourself." The three Spearhand hunters and all of the Bighead Boys dove into the Bigheads' computer-generated holoseum.

Fletch first noticed that he had no chance to customize his Robo. His new Ray-01 deployed into the holoseum almost instantly, then took Robo form upon contact with the ground. He had no weapons in his hands, but he didn't think he would need them in a simple race. The holoseum itself was just a cubic room with black walls that had yellow lines that formed a wire-frame grid on all sides. The Bighead Boys, Jay, and Kip all deployed in the same way a few seconds later. The Bighead boys each used a Funky Bighead model of some kind, but Tyler was the only one with a Seal Head. The others had Dour Heads, Tank Heads, and some other newer designs, but Fletch saw that something was amiss. Everyone else, including his own teammates, had a strange looking pod on their backs; each was identical with the exception of colors. Jay immediately expressed his confusion, "What's going on?"

Tyler laughed confidently, "This is our holoseum, so you have to follow our rules. The pod you have is called a Motor pod. It is your racing tool, and it's automatically given to anyone who comes in here."

Kip noticed that Fletch had no pod, and was the first to point it out, "Wait! Fletch didn't get one!"

Tyler shrugged, "Not my fault. Never had that happen before, so too bad!" The Bighead Boys all chimed in with Tyler's malicious laughter this time.

Fletch was unsure of how to respond, but just asked, "So where's the race course?"

Tyler pointed to a wall and said, "It's through that wall. Just activate your pod in here, and drive it through the wall to enter the course. As for what the course is like, you'll just have to see for yourself!"

Fletch folded his Robo arms, "So what are the conditions?"

"First one to the finish wins for his team. No rules besides win!" With that, Tyler activated his pod. It flipped around in front of him and folded out into a tan two-wheeled vehicle, which would today be recognized as a motorcycle. He signaled to his teammates, revved his pod, and ran it towards the wall. Instead of hitting it, though, he went through it like it was nothing but a hologram. The other Bigheads followed suit and activated their pods, then drove them through the wall into the racecourse. Jay and Kip weren't about to leave Fletch behind without a pod, so they waited for Fletch to say something.

"Jay, go! Keep up with them."

Jay nodded without a word and activated his own motor pod and drove through the wall.

"Kip, activate your pod. I'll ride," Fletch said

"Won't that slow us down?"

Fletch activated his Robo computer's system. He used a voice-command shortcut, "Legs, Standard!" A yellow light surrounded his feet, then when it faded, he had equipped his Robo with Standard Robo Legs. "I'll use these to boost us a bit."

Kip nodded and activated her blue Motor Pod. Fletch hopped on behind her, and the two of them drove towards the wall and entered the race.


	29. Chapter 29: Race to the Finish

Chapter 29: Race to the Finish

The racing holoseum greatly resembled a present-day interstate. It was a very long stretch of elevated asphalt with very urban surroundings. Tall buildings were all around, there were things going on below the race, and there were even computer-simulated cars driving along with the racers as added obstacles. Fletch didn't waste any time taking in the scenery, though. He pushed his feet quickly downwards and backwards on the pavement, feeling his computer system rerouting his reserve strength to the augmentation in his legs that boosted the pod he and Kip were on forward. The motorcycle managed to gain enough speed to begin to catch up to Jay.

Fletch had still not been able to identify what model Jay's Robo was, or even what it might be based on. It looked completely new to him, but he didn't have time to think about it.

Jay had already caught up to one of the Bighead boys who had fallen behind the main group, and the two of them were pushing at each other with their hands, each trying to dismount the other and eliminate him from the race. Fletch said to Kip, "Pull up to his other side." Kip swerved quickly to the right, avoiding a car that was driving towards them, and she moved around the back of another. Fletch boosted them forward again, and Kip moved to the opposite side of the Bighead from Jay.

Because he was still striking at Jay, the Bighead had not noticed Kip and Fletch on his other side. Fletch held onto Kip for balance, then hopped on the Bighead's motorcycle behind its driver. He immediately pushed the enormous head forward into the dashboard, then leaned back as the Bighead let go of the bars and flew backwards over Fletch and off the cycle. Fletch sat right back up and took the controls before the motorcycle could swerve out of control.

Jay commented, "Nice of you guys to stop by."

Without missing a beat, Fletch said, "Oh, we haven't stopped yet!"

The three of them maneuvered through the traffic together, keeping their sights on the group of Bigheads ahead of them. Because the Bigheads were generally heavier than Fletch, Kip, and Jay's sleeker fighting Robo models, they gained ground on the Bigheads steadily. As they approached from behind, Fletch freed one of his hands from his vehicle's controls to bring in a weapon. He said to his Robo computer, "Bomb, Standard." The visor screen came up in front of him and he could see it making the selection he had indicated. He felt the weapon forming in his free hand, and when it was finished, he fired it in a high arc in front of them. It hit right where Fletch had intended: Near the front of the pack of Bigheads. A few were blown off the side of the course to the streets below directly from the blast, others swerved to the same fall after losing control. A few just crashed and their vehicles became too damaged to continue.

Four Bigheads in front of the blast maintained control, including Tyler, and only one near the back was able to navigate through the debris. The explosion had cleared by the time Fletch, Kip, and Jay came through, and they had no trouble passing through the wreckage as well. A Bighead that had been thrown from his vehicle tried to dismount Fletch by jumping at him, but Fletch thwarted his attempt with a quick punch to the nose that knocked him away. He resumed his course, thinking all was well, but he heard Kip shout from behind him, "Ah! Get off! Rrr!" Fletch heard the sound of metal-on-metal, and he looked back over his shoulder.

Kip had been boarded by another Bighead, and she was struggling to maintain control as it tried to bring her down. Fletch quickly switched weapons, "Gun, Standard!" His bomb glowed, reshaped and solidified into a Standard gun. He couldn't shoot over his shoulder, so he called out to Jay, who was alongside Kip, "Jay, get him off her!" Fletch glanced over his shoulder to find exactly where Jay was and tossed the gun to him. He had no time to see if Jay had caught it because he had to see where he was going, but he was pretty sure Jay had gotten it just fine.

He heard a few Robo joint movement sounds behind him, then all at once, Fletch heard the weapon firing, Jay swearing, and more metal hitting metal. Then there was a skidding screech, and Fletch glanced over his shoulder again just in time to see Jay go over the edge of the course. The Bighead had seen Jay pointing the gun and had cycle-hopped to Jay's vehicle to bring him down instead.

Kip and Fletch didn't need to tell each other not to stop. They both knew it and kept going after the few Bigheads that remained. After a few seconds, Kip said, "Fletch, use your Robo's legs to speed up and catch them!"

Fletch said back, "No, I'm not just going to leave you behind."

"Oh, stop it. He said the winner wins for his team. You have a better chance if you're not worried about me."

Fletch muttered in indecision, then said, "I'll keep them occupied until you catch up." He activated his legs' boosters and sped up. The traffic began to thin out again, but the individual cars seemed to be moving faster. Almost as fast as Fletch was going with his added speed. Fletch freed his hand again and recalled his Standard Bomb weapon as he gained more and more ground on the Bigheads. Tyler, who was in the lead of the pack, looked back over his shoulder and saw Fletch preparing to fire his bomb again.

Tyler figured that Fletch had used the upgrade chip to get the weapon into the holoseum, so he wasn't quite surprised. Tyler swerved right and struck out at one of his own teammate's motorcycles, causing it to lose control and wipe out. Fletch was about to fire his bomb when he saw the fallen pod coming back at him. He hit the wreckage and he lost control of his own vehicle. He pushed off of it in a jump just before it fell over and shattered into a broken remnant. To get enough push for the jump, though, he had been forced to drop his Bomb.

In the air, Fletch activated his descent augmentation, though he kept most of his forward momentum, and was able to land himself on one of the fast-moving cars. He then found out that they were indeed going faster than the motor pods.

The car Fletch was on gained ground on Tyler's group steadily. Once he caught up to them, Tyler saw him out of the corner of his eye and signaled to the others. They understood and gathered around the larger vehicle that Fletch was on, where they started hitting at it with a free hand. Tyler had sped ahead, and Fletch felt the car start to lose control. He quickly kicked at the head of one attacking Robo, knocking it away, but then the car went into a skid towards the edge of the course.

Fletch routed his strength into his legs and pounced off the car and onto another Bighead. He grabbed hold of it's head and got his feet placed on the motorcycle as the Bighead tried in vain to reach back at him with his too-short arms. Fletch simply lifted the Robo off of the vehicle and threw him at another, eliminating two more Bigheads from the race. Only one remained besides Tyler, and Fletch was already gaining ground on it. He caught up to him, and reached out to strike with his arm. This Bighead wasn't going without a fight, though. He veered away and avoided Fletch, then came back and smashed into him.

Fletch reached out to push again, but the Bighead grabbed him. Fletch pulled away with relative ease, but was again forced to pull away from his target. The Bighead came at him from the side again and hit Fletch on the side again. Since the Bighead was considerably heavier, Fletch was forced to the side and almost off the side of the course. Fletch kept moving forward, trying to push the Bighead away, but it just kept pushing him, trying to make him go over the edge.

Fletch was about to lose his balance when his Robo computer beeped several times rapidly, which meant he was being fired upon. He took sudden realization and slammed on his brakes. The Bighead continued moving forward, but was immediately eliminated by an explosion. Kip pulled up alongside Fletch. She was holding the bomb weapon he had dropped, and he could tell by her eyes that if she were not in Robo form, she'd be smiling. "Let's go," Fletch said. They still had one more obstacle to keep them from winning: Tyler.


	30. Chapter 30: Finish Line

Chapter 30: Finish Line

Fletch and Kip raced down the course, trying to catch Tyler before he finished first. The traffic was nearly non-existent by now, so they had no trouble reaching maximum speed, but Tyler still wasn't anywhere in sight.  
"Fletch, use your boost again," Kip suggested from alongside him.  
Fletch shook his head, "Nah, I don't need to."  
"What? What do you mean?"  
"I just thought about it, but nothing's at stake in this race, so why bother to beat him?"  
"Because he's a little brat, and someone needs to put him in his place!"  
"But if I win, he'll just keep coming after me until he can beat me at something. He'll be an annoyance!"  
"But if you just stop now, he'll never stop gloating about it!"

Fletch was in a difficult situation. Whether he won or lost, he gained nothing and would never be rid of this kid who was far too influenced by movie characters. Suddenly, a solution came to him. "OK, Kip. See ya!" He activated his legs' boosters and sped up ahead of her.  
"… Wait a sec, that was too easy," Kip said to herself.

Fletch's motorcycle dashed ahead. Fletch directed extra power to his pod, which in turn made the vehicle speed up even more in addition to the extra speed given by his feet's boosters. Fletch had to keep a firm grip on the controls, because he could lose control very easily at his present speed. The buildings and what remained of the cars flew past him almost too fast to be able to count. And eventually, Fletch saw Tyler come into view.

He gained ground on Tyler very quickly, but although he could have passed him without any problem, he slowed down and nearly matched Tyler's speed. He eventually pulled up alongside him, but kept his distance to the side. Tyler saw him and said, "Geez! Can anything stop you!?"  
Fletch didn't answer but kept going at Tyler's speed. He saw something in the distance and squinted to see what it was. He activated his sight magnification and found that what he saw was the finish line. He felt a hit on his side and came back to normal view just in time to maintain control. Tyler was trying to run him off the course, but Fletch pushed him off with a free hand. Tyler came back at him, but Fletch used his feet to speed up just enough for Tyler to miss.  
"Hey that's cheating!" Tyler complained as he struggled to keep up and tried drafting right behind Fletch to gain speed. The finish line was getting very close.

Fletch looked over his shoulder, "You said it yourself. No rules." Fletch slammed his brakes on and skidded his rear wheel, turning his vehicle sideways, then hopped off the back of it and used his descent augmentation to land on the pavement. Tyler panicked and crashed into Fletch's motorcycle and was thrown from his own. He hit the road hard, bounced and slid a ways with some added sparks, then came to a halt. He was only yards from the finish line, so he got up and dashed for it.  
Before he could cross, though, Fletch dropped from above and landed between Tyler and the finish. Tyler slowed and lost momentum, then Fletch's foot brought Tyler to a complete halt on his back.  
Tyler yelled at him, "I'll keep challenging you until I beat you! I swear I will beat you in something if it's the last thing I do!"  
Fletch reached down and gripped Tyler's Robo, "Then consider me beaten." He picked Tyler up and threw him the last few yards and across the finish line. Before Tyler even hit the ground, the world around them faded into wire-frames, then went black.

All of the competitors came back to real life and Tyler was absolutely speechless. He had no idea what to make of what had just happened. He looked like he wanted to say something, but no words came to him. He even felt like breaking out in tears, which he had no desire to do in front of his team. To add to his frustration, Fletch, Kip, and Jay were completely silent and looking down at them. Tyler just growled in frustration and turned his back to leave with the rest of his team. Not a word was said until the Bighead Boys were out of sight.

"Do you think we've seen the last of him?" Kip asked.  
Fletch shook his head, "Nah, but we'll see less of him than we would if I had really beaten him.  
Jay said apologetically, "Sorry I got eliminated, you guys. But hey, you still won without me."  
Fletch patted Jay's shoulder with his useable arm, "Yeah, don't worry about it, Jay. All is well."  
"Good job, guys," Tyson complimented. He was interrupted by his phone ringing. He answered it, "Spearhand Hunters, Tyson speaking." There was a pause, then he said, "We're on our way." He hung up and said urgently, "We need to get back to the lab, now!"

The four of them quickly made their way back towards the train station. "What's going on?" Fletch asked Jay as they ran.  
Jay said, "Not quite sure, but from Tyson's thoughts, I don't think it's anything good."


	31. Chapter 31: Covering Tracks

Chapter 31: Covering Tracks

The Spearhand Hunters made it to the same train that the Bighead Boys were taking. Apparently, they had received the same call. The train departed for the Lab Dome. It arrived with a screech, and the passengers all disembarked in a hurry to find out what all the fuss was about. Two guards were in position at the entrance to the train station, and they let the two teams pass. Darclaw was the only other team that had already arrived, and they were in the reception room near the entrance. Robbie, Wade, and Otto were all standing, opting not to sit down for whatever reason. Robbie flashed Fletch a glance as Spearhand entered, but it was not one of anger or contempt. It was more like silent concern. Tyson asked Wade, "Do you know what's going on?"  
Wade said, "Not yet. Ray said he'll be with us in a moment." Apparently there was no rivalry between the two chiefs.

As if on cue, Ray entered the room. Everyone paid attention, even before he said anything. There was an awkward silence, then Ray addressed them, "As you can probably tell, we have a problem."  
"Shortly after the recent tournament ended, the guards that were attacked when the Ultimatum was stolen woke up. We had intended to get some answers from them as to who stole it, but shortly after they woke, the security cameras in the medical wing were shut off. When our security guards arrived, the medical staff members were unconscious, we believe from Robo battles, and the guards that had just awoken were dead. We have forensics investigators still examining the scene, but we were able to track down and apprehend one suspect within our own ranks. We have surveyed all possible exit points, and nobody has escaped the building. We have called you here because the rest of the attackers are still here. You are to track down and apprehend them. Any questions?"

Fletch raised his good arm and asked, "Who was it that you have already arrested?"  
Ray answered, "Nick of the police force. You've met him before."  
Fletch was surprised. He had fought Nick in the tournament, and he wouldn't have believed Nick could do what he was accused of.

There were no other questions, so Ray said, "You will have access to any area of the lab that you need, just find them as soon as you can. The lab will be put into lockdown so that nobody can come in or out, which will make your search easier. Good luck." He then tapped his headset microphone and said, "Lock down the lab. Full lockdown."  
A voice responded, "Yes sir. Lockdown commencing." There was silence, then there was the sound of a heavy metal door closing from the train station. Doors all around the station that were exits were closed and locked, and the whole lab dome was closed off from the outside world.  
"You may begin your search," Ray said.

Fletch now had another question, "Why didn't we wait for more teams before closing the lab?"  
Ray answered, "We couldn't keep the lab open any longer without risking the attackers escaping. I suggest you get to work so we won't have to remain stuck in here for very long."  
Wade got his team moving, "Ronnie, Otto, this way. We'll check the dormitories first." The three Darclaw Hunters went one way, Tyler led his group another way to the medical wing.  
Tyson said to his team, "I guess we'll check the offices and research stations, then work our way around from there."  
Fletch said, "You and Kip go ahead. Jay and I will look somewhere else."  
Tyson nodded without objection and went with Kip to another part of the dome.  
Jay asked Fletch, "Umm… So where are we going?"  
Fletch said, "We're checking the security station."  
Jay raised an eyebrow, "But that's the last place the killers will go."  
Fletch nodded, "And it's the first place _we'll_ go."

Jay shrugged, "OK, you're the boss." They made their way to the security wing. A guard was on duty, and allowed them to enter. Fletch asked for directions to the main surveillance station, and the guard told them exactly where it was.  
Several more guards were inside monitoring the security cameras. One of them stood up and said to Fletch and Jay, "Can I help you?"  
Fletch answered, "Yes, as a matter of fact. Can you cue up the tape of the medical wing at the time of the killings?"  
"Sure. Hang on." The guard got up and moved over to another empty camera station. He turned a dial and the tape rewound. Fletch and Jay watched.

The three guards were in separate cots with consoles monitoring their status. There were beeps that indicated heart beat, and other machines were constantly scanning their vitals. One machine beeped suddenly and one of the guards stirred. The attention of everyone in the room was attracted, and they started to move over. One said, "He's waking up!" Then the screen suddenly showed complete static interference and the scene was lost.

The guard said, "It shows nothing but static for a while." He fast-forwarded the tape, then got to the end of the static.

When the picture came back, the three guards were still in their cots, but the sheets were stained with blood. Each of the guards had a visible stab wound in their necks, and the medical staff was unconscious on the floor. Only one person in the room was standing: A police officer that Fletch recognized as Nick. Nick was holding a knife that clearly had blood on it, and running. Someone who was not visible on the screen yelled, "Get him!"  
Three other guards ran in, caught up to Nick, wrestled him to the ground, knocking the knife from his hand, and they took him away.

The guard stopped the tape and said, "And that's it. But he couldn't have done it by himself. It would have taken multiple attackers to take out the medical staff."  
Fletch nodded, thinking. "Sir, could you have your men leave the room, please? Jay and I would like to inspect in here alone."  
The guard was hesitant at first, but agreed since the station was on lockdown and the exits would not need to be monitored. If the exits were breached, alarms would go off anyway. The guard told his men to leave the room, and then Jay and Fletch were the only ones left. Fletch sat down at the security station and began reviewing the tape over and over, looking for hints.

Jay went to look through other tapes to see if he could find anything out. Neither of them were making much progress until after a while of examining the same tape over and over, Fletch said, "Jay, come here! I think we've got something!"


	32. Chapter 32: Security Cameras

Chapter 32: Security Cameras

Jay left the tape he was examining, which had been created during the tournament and was virtually irrelevant, and came over to where Fletch was. "What have we got?"  
Fletch had paused the tape right where the static had ended and the picture could be seen clearly. The dead guards were seen on the far side of the room, a stab wound in the side of each one's neck, the medical staff was unconscious, and Nick was running while holding a bloody knife. Fletch started explaining, "OK, first off I don't think Nick did it because there were evidently multiple people involved in the attack. Some had to take out the medics with Robo battles, someone had to be the one to make the kills."

Jay wasn't sure where Fletch was going, "Yeah. But Nick could have been the one assigned to kill, couldn't he?"  
"No. Doesn't it take longer to finish a Robo battle than to stab an incapacitated person? If Nick had really made the kills, he wouldn't be the last attacker left in the room. He would have gotten out sooner."  
"OK, I see your point, but I don't think it's enough to prove his innocence."  
Fletch continued, "OK, how about this. If you want to pull off a knife killing in a high-security research lab, you need to work quickly, right?" Jay nodded. "So you'll stab them from the closest side you can get to, right?" Jay nodded again. "Look at the guards. They were stabbed from someone who would have entered the right side of the screen because that's the side that they were stabbed from."

Jay said, "OK, so?"  
Fletch continued, "Nick is running from the right side of the screen to the left. If he had been the one who killed the guards, he would have been at the left of the screen after killing them all."  
"What if he had killed them from right to left, turned to leave the way he came, stopped at the right of the screen when he saw the other guards coming after him, then turned and run the other direction?"  
"But if you want to kill and leave quickly, you'll take the nearest exit, right? After killing from right to left, the left of the screen would be the closest way out."  
"How do we even know there's an exit there? How do we know that just past the left of the screen there isn't just a wall?"  
Fletch thought for a moment. He fast-forwarded the tape to the medical wing live camera. The Bighead boys were there, investigating the scene. Fletch moved the camera so that it looked to the left. There was a door labeled "Emergency Exit". "I guess you know what this means, Jay?"

Jay nodded, "The attackers aren't in the dome anymore. But that still doesn't account for the bloody knife Nick was holding."  
"It's confusing, yes, but he probably has an explanation. We need to find him and talk with him. We should probably tell Ray, too."  
"Yeah." They both were about to leave when the monitor Jay had been looking at caught Fletch's eye. "Hang on…" He pulled up a chair and rewound the tape.

The room he was looking at was empty at first, but then he saw two people in it. He rewound until only one of them was in there, then began playing the tape. Ray was standing, waiting for something. Then Tyson walked into the screen. Fletch remembered that after his battle with Angel, Tyson had left to speak to Ray. This must have been the tape that recorded their conversation. Tyson on the tape asked, "Yes, sir?"  
Ray answered, "You know that Fletch's last opponent is one that lord Strike has been looking for, correct?"  
Tyson said, "Yes. I had to disrupt her mind to make sure Fletch won his battle, so I know."  
"All right. Everything is almost set, then. We just need to make sure Fletch wins the tournament. If he fails, use your abilities to arrange a rematch for him to win the prize in the end. Can it be done?"  
Tyson nodded, "Of course."

"Good. But make sure not to tell him about his past until the time is right. If he learns of his former life too soon, he may turn against us. By the time Strike gains full power, Fletch will be much stronger, and Strike will be able to control him freely, if everything works out. Then the R-Syndicate will be unstoppable."  
Tyson nodded again, "I understand, sir."

"When your team leaves the lab, make sure to be ready to return immediately. I'll coordinate with Lord Strike to eliminate the guards and gather all of our targets together. Once everything is set and they are all gathered here, I'll lock down the lab so they can't escape until Strike arrives."  
"And you're sure everyone Strike needs will be here?"  
"The policeman, Nick, is the key. I'll keep him on the guard team here and frame him for the murders so we can keep him here. Fletch's last opponent, Angel, is unconscious, and we can hold her here as well. Thanks to Fletch, she was easy to contain. The last one we will need is your team member, Jay, so make sure you can get back to the lab quickly before we have to let too many more teams in to investigate."  
"It will be done, sir." Tyson turned and exited the screen.

Fletch stopped the recording. He rewound it and played from where Ray said, "I'll coordinate with Lord Strike to eliminate the guards and gather all of our targets together."  
After a moment of stunned silence, Jay said, "Maybe we shouldn't tell Ray… I think he already knows."


	33. Chapter 33: Room 17

Chapter 33: Room 17

Fletch was shocked with disbelief. He played back the recording several times to make sure they had heard correctly and had made a reasonable conclusion. But there was no doubt about it. Ray and Tyson had been a part of setting this whole thing up.  
Jay sat down, too stunned to continue standing, "My God, my God… How could I not have known about this? I can read minds, but I didn't see any of this? How, how how?" He put his fists on his forehead in frustration.  
Fletch rewound the tape again, but farther back this time. Tyson on the screen repeated, "I had to disrupt her mind to make sure Fletch won his battle, so I know."

Fletch thought back and remembered things he had not worried about before. In his battle with Kip, she became unable to continue fighting. It had been Tyson. Angel had become unable to concentrate enough to use her power in battle. Tyson had done that, too. Fletch remembered not wanting help in the tournament finals, but had considered asking for it because of some unknown thoughts that drifted into his mind. Tyson was responsible for those thoughts. Ronnie would never have accepted a rematch, but he did anyway without question. Tyson had made him think it a good idea. And when Fletch had asked Jay to read Tyson's mind and tell him about his past, Jay refused, all because Tyson had made him. Tyson had lied to them all. He knew his power all too well, and had been exploiting it right in front of them.

Fletch said to Jay, "It was because Tyson wouldn't let you, Jay."  
Jay looked up, "What?"  
"We need to talk with him. We need to discover the truth of all this. Then we need to get out of here."  
"What were they saying about me, Nick, and Angel on the tape?"  
"They didn't say what they were up to, but they apparently need you three for something. They also need me, they said. They need me to be on their side…" Fletch thought for a moment. "And they said I'd be under their control…"  
"So what do you think?" Jay asked.  
Fletch shook his head, "I don't know. I don't see how you, Angel, and Nick could help them take control of me. But I don't really want to find out."  
"What's the plan, then?"

Fletch picked up a two-way radio, handed it to Jay, and picked up another for himself. "You stay here. I'll go get Nick, Kip, and Angel, and I'll get what I can out of Tyson. Then I'll radio you and we'll find a way out of here."  
"What can I do while I wait?"  
"You can still help me from here. Guide me with the cameras."  
Jay nodded, "OK. Good luck!"

Fletch began walking down the halls. He called on his radio, "Jay, where are Tyson and Kip now?"  
Jay responded after a few seconds, "They're in the research wing main atrium, talking with some technicians. Hang on, I'll pull up a dome map." A few moments passed, "OK, from where you are, take a left and go down the long hallway. Fletch turned a corner and headed in that direction.  
Jay called again a few moments later, "OK, they're done talking and they're coming your direction."  
Fletch saw Kip and Tyson coming towards him down the hall. From a distance, Kip smiled and mind-spoke, "Hey, Fletch!"

When they were closer, Tyson asked, "Have you found anything, Fletch?"  
Fletch said, "Actually, we have. Follow me." He turned and started walking the other way. He said into his radio, "Jay, where is Nick being held?"  
A few moments passed, then Jay responded, "Dormitories, Section C, Room 17. I'll guide you there."  
"Thanks."

They followed Jay's directions through the dome hallways to the Dormitories, Section C. When they came to Room 17, Fletch said into his radio, "Jay, unlock the room's door."  
A few seconds later, the door clicked as it was electronically unlocked. Kip asked, "Where is Jay?"  
Fletch said, "He's in the main security department."  
Kip suddenly stopped and supported herself against the wall with her hand, "Ah!" She put her other hand on her head and winced.

"What's wrong?" Fletch asked, holding out his good hand to catch her if she fell.  
"Nothing… Just a headache. It's gone now."  
Fletch looked at Tyson, whose face was expressionless. Fletch held his radio up again and said, "Jay, lock the door to the room you're in. Don't let anyone in."  
Jay responded, "OK. What's wrong?"  
Without answering, Fletch turned his radio off. He opened the door to Room 17 and said, "Everyone inside. Now."

Kip didn't know why he was suddenly so demanding, "Huh? What's wrong, Fletch?"  
Fletch looked both ways down the hall, "No time. Just get inside. I'll explain."  
Tyson raised an eyebrow, but said nothing and went inside with Kip. Fletch checked the hallway one more time, then entered as well.

Nick was sitting on a cot, and just looked over at the three who had just entered. He didn't say anything. His Robo cube had been confiscated, as well as his standard police equipment.  
Tyson said, "Fletch, what do we need from him?"  
Fletch said, "I reviewed the security recording, and I have reason to believe Nick is innocent. I just need to confirm a few things."  
Tyson nodded and took a seat in a chair, "Go ahead then."  
Fletch turned his attention towards Nick, "Nick, tell me what happened from your point of view."

Nick said, "The alarm went off all over the lab, I was patrolling a hall, and I was the first one to the scene. The medical staff were all in battles against people in dark blue suits. The three guards were already dead. Almost as soon as I entered, the Robo battles ended and all of the medical staff fell unconscious from them. I tried to apprehend one of the attackers, but before I could start a Robo battle he took out a knife and attacked me. I blocked him, we struggled a bit, and I made him stab his own leg. He knocked me away and dropped the knife. When I got up, he was gone, along with the others. I picked up the knife, and was about to pursue them when the other guards finally arrived and accused me of doing everything. I know I looked suspicious, but I swear I'm telling the truth."

Fletch looked at Tyson and Kip and nodded. He looked back at Nick and said, "We believe you, Nick."  
Tyson spoke up, "What do you mean 'we'? I for one still have some doubts about him."  
Fletch turned around to face Tyson, "Well, I have no more questions for Nick, but I do have some for you, Chief."

Tyson raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"  
Fletch narrowed his eyes, "I'm talking about your allegiance… Slash."


	34. Chapter 34: R Syndicate

Chapter 34: R-Syndicate

Tyson seemed taken aback, "Sorry, what? I don't know what you mean."

"Oh yes, you do," Fletch said back. "You know about everything that's going on, and I want to hear it all, now!" he demanded.

Kip was getting scared at Fletch's sudden change in attitude, and said to his mind, "Fletch, what are you doing?"

Tyson folded his arms and said, "Well somebody's being a bit demanding, aren't they?"

Fletch was losing patience, "I've had enough of your games, Tyson. Tell me everything NOW!"

Tyson put his hands up in front of him, "All right, all right, chill out." Fletch was breathing hard through gritted teeth and rage burning in his eyes. Nick was confused and just looked from one face to another, saying nothing and just listening.

Kip was frightened; She had never seen Fletch like this before and said to his mind while shrinking back towards the wall, "Fletch, please calm down!"

Fletch looked sideways at her and saw her on the verge of tears. He closed his eyes, relaxed his tension, and took a deep breath to calm down. "All right," He took another breath, "let's hear it, Slash."

"First of all, the only people who call me that are members of the R-syndicate. If you please, continue to call me Tyson."

"Fine. Keep going."

"OK. Basically, you're right. I do know everything that's going on. I know who stole the Ray-UM, I know who killed the guards, and I know who framed Nick. As a matter of fact, I know all of them personally."

Nick suddenly stood up, "You set this up?! You did all this?!"

With his good hand, Fletch motioned for Nick to sit back down and listen. "Sorry, go ahead Tyson." Fletch was trying to keep his anger contained, but couldn't help feeling it burn behind his now-calm expression.

"I am a member of the R-Syndicate. We operate outside the bounds of the law, but we're all able to keep under cover very well. Our members are everywhere; however, I'm the only one you know about, apparently."

"No, Jay and I found out about Ray, too."

Kip said, "Wait, Ray's involved in this? I thought he was a good guy." Fletch shook his head as a "No" to her.

Tyson continued, "Ah, so you know about Ray, too. He was the one responsible for setting up the security recording that made Nick the prime suspect for killing the guards. Of course there's me, and within the R-Syndicate I'm known as Slash. But there's nobody else you know of? Then let me give you a few names. Strike?"

Fletch shook his head, "Never heard of him."

"Well, you would not know him by any other name. Nobody does. He's the one who personally stole the Ultimatum and incapacitated the guards on duty that night. Since they were still alive, he came back a short while ago to finish the job. The red rubber that Ray said was discovered on a glass shard from the UM's case was from Strike's red wristband, which is a symbol of his power in R. I'm sure you know this next name. Would you have guessed that Tyler is in R?"

Without thinking, Kip said aloud, "That idiot!?" For a few seconds of silence, all the eyes in the room were on her. "… Oh… Sorry, keep going."

Tyson shook his head slightly, then continued, "How about Ronnie?"

"Ronnie's in R? I thought he was against me joining you. I had a feeling he would be involved in some way, but I thought you two were on opposite sides."

"We are. A short time before your memory was lost, R broke in two. Ronnie went one way with several other people, and the others that I've mentioned, myself, and the larger portion of R went another. Since then, my side has been the more criminally active while Ronnie's side has been more dedicated to getting the rest of us caught."

"So Ronnie's side is the good side?" Kip said.

Tyson shrugged, "Call it what you like. All of us were criminals at one point or another, so Ronnie's side can't really go to the police with our identities. Oh, another name I forgot to mention."

Fletch asked, "Who?"

Tyson looked him straight in the eyes and said, "You." There was a stunned silence, and all eyes in the room were now on Fletch.

"… Me?"

"You were the best Robo commander in the world, one of the three leaders of the R-Syndicate, and we were proud to call you one of us. Until R split and you went with Ronnie. That's when we stopped you and wiped your memory."

Fletch could no longer contain himself, "YOU erased my memory!? YOU!?!?"

Tyson wasn't one to be intimidated, "Well, not me personally, but I was involved."

"But I thought the memory erasure device went missing!?"

"And you thought it had just vanished into thin air? When we suspected you would join the R-Separatists, we stole it just so we would not have you as an enemy."

"So that's why you want control of me, right? You know now that I'll still want to be your enemy, and you'll do anything to stop that from happening?"

"Ah, you've found out a lot. So, yes; the last person we want as an enemy is you. And if you're uncontrollable, we are prepared to kill you."

"And why do you need Nick, Angel, and Jay to do it?"

"Think about their powers. Jay's expands beyond what any of you think. Not only can he can read minds, but he can also remove thoughts from people's heads. Angel can create mental images."

"But you don't know Nick's power. Nobody does, not even himself."

Nick looked up, "Wait, what?"

"Very few people ever discover their powers themselves, Fletch. But Ray's power is that he can tell what the power of another is. That's how I first learned of mine, and it's why suddenly, so many people have these powers."

Fletch said plainly, "You can put thoughts in other people's heads."

"Quite right. Kip and Angel being unable to fight? That was me. I overloaded their minds with thoughts and they could no longer maintain a good connection with the holoseum system."

"I figured as much."

Kip said, "Wait, that was you!?"

Tyson ignored the question, "Anyway, Nick's power is his ability to holoseum hack. He can join a Robo battle while it is in progress, he can even hack his Robo into things that don't have a holoseum. Like raw minds for example. He can deploy his Robo's program into someone's mind and kill them from inside and without a trace."

Nick looked at them all, "But I've never done that before!"

"Nor are you likely to ever, Nick. Which is why we need you. If Strike can harness Nick's ability to mentally hack and combine it with the Ultimatum's ability to absorb data, Strike can absorb the power of anyone he chooses. If you assume that he is going to take Angel's power and Jay's, you get…?"

Fletch was confused, "Mind control?"

"Exactly."

"I see. But that would kill whoever's power Strike takes, right?"

"But in essence, we lose nothing from it, so it matters little to us."

"And how do you plan to harness Nick's power without having it in the first place?"

"Oh, we're still working on that. But in a lab with such vast technology, we're bound to find a way."

"Ah… So… why are you telling us all this when we are in a dome full of certified policemen that we can tell?"

"Like I said, we are everywhere. Many of the guards in this dome are actually our men. Ray is in charge, so he arranged the shifts so that we can easily secure the whole facility by ourselves. You don't know who you can trust, so we feel safe that you won't say anything. Strike will be back soon, and everything will go as we are planning. I feel safe telling you all this at once because none of you are getting out of here alive."


	35. Chapter 35: Hallways

Chapter 35: Hallways

Fletch took charge, "Kip, Nick, come with me. This conversation is over."

Kip and Nick didn't ask questions, and followed him. Tyson didn't try to stop them, "Oh, go ahead. I won't try and stop you. There's nowhere in the lab that you can go that we won't find you. There are too many of us for you to hide from."

Fletch didn't say anything, Kip was just scared, and Nick was still confused. They exited the room and followed Fletch back down the halls at a quickened pace. Kip asked, "What now, Fletch?"

Fletch unhooked the radio that he had and turned it back on. "Jay, what's your status?"

Jay's voice came back through, "Geez, why the heck did you turn it off? I was listening to your conversation on a security monitor, and some guards are trying to get back in."

"Don't open the door. Just stay where you are and try to get them to go away. We'll come get you."

"Uh… Fletch? They've got a fusion cutter and they're cutting around the lock."

"Barricade the door and hold out as long as you can. I'll be there soon."

"OK, you're the boss."

Fletch handed his radio to Nick and asked him "Nick, do you know where Angel is being held?"

Nick nodded, "Yes, she was taken to the dormitories after you nearly killed her. I saw her still unconscious while I was patrolling earlier."

"Take Kip with you and get her out. Do what you can to revive her, and I'll be in contact over the radio once Jay and I secure the security station." Nick didn't have his Robo because it was confiscated, so Fletch said to Kip, "Kip, do not enter a Robo battle unless you have no choice. We don't have enough time for it. Contact us once you have Angel."

Nick nodded an affirmative. He turned around with Kip and they headed towards the medical wing. As they got farther away, Fletch could hear Jay's voice on the radio in a panicked tone saying, "Fletch get up here! They're breaking through!"

Fletch's pace turned to a run, but the lab dome was so large, he would not be able to get anywhere quickly no matter how fast he moved. He remembered the way back well enough, but he just wasn't sure he'd get there in time. He ran by Tyler and several of his team members, but didn't say anything to them. As far as Fletch knew, Tyler didn't know that he knew about him.

He kept thinking about what Tyson said. Jay's power to empty someone's thoughts, Angel's power to make them think they see something and act on it. But just those two would make complete mind control? That didn't make sense to him. There had to be more to it. Something Tyson still wasn't telling them.

He was almost there. Just one more hallway to the security station, but he could hear no sounds of a door being cut through, no crashing of a makeshift barricade, nothing, which could only mean the guards had already broken through and Jay was in a Robo battle. Fletch came to the entrance and was proven right. Jay and 4 guards were in fighting stances with their Robos glowing, obviously in a battle. The door was cut around the handle and was obviously broken-into, and there were chairs scattered and partially broken around the entrance. The computers all seemed untouched, though.

There was no way Fletch could join in mid-battle. He was already locked out of the mentally projected holoseum, but the battle didn't last much longer. The commanders all returned to life, and Jay fell backwards, along with three of the four guards. Jay had held them off pretty well, but one still remained. The guard who remained turned and saw Fletch. He reached to activate his Robo, but before he could do so, Fletch socked him hard in the face with his good arm, which was stronger than a normal arm because he couldn't use his left. The punch knocked the guard unconscious before he even knew it was coming and he spun several times before landing on the floor.

Jay still had his radio on his belt, and Fletch took it off and spoke into it, "Nick, what's your status?"

Nick responded, "We found Angel's room, and she wasn't too happy to see us."

"What? What happened?"

"As soon as I opened the door, everything went fuzzy and I felt really dizzy, but fortunately she ran into me trying to get out and the illusion vanished. She's passive now, but still half asleep."

"Can you move her to the security station?"

"If we did, it would be very slow and we'd be vulnerable."

"Well we have no choice. Do your best to get up here as quick as you can. I can't move Jay because he's out cold. I'll try to revive him and I'll watch the hallways for you to give you the easiest way up here."

"Affirmative. Moving out."

Fletch watched on the monitor, and the hallways were clear. Angle had trouble standing on her own, so Nick and Kip had to help hold her up as they moved. As Nick has predicted, it wasn't going to be fast. Fletch said through the radio, "Nick, any idea where they would be holding your Robo cube?"

Nick's response came, but at the cost of them having to stop moving. "It's probably going to be at the dormitory storage area. We'll be passing by it on the way there. I'll pick it up on the way."

"OK, that's fine. But remember, no Robo battles. Is Angel's cube with her?"

"No, it's probably there too."

"OK. Do your best to secure those cubes so you are all armed if you need to be."

Fletch switched the cameras around, and found the storage area. There was one guard on duty. "Nick, there is one guard there. If he gives you any trouble, let Kip fight him while you get the cubes."

"Roger that." Nick put the radio away and they kept moving. On the cameras, the halls were clear enough.

At about that time, Jay started coming around, and recovered quickly with a jump. "AH! …. What happened?"

"Don't worry, Jay. We're fine. Good to have you back."

Jay rubbed his eyes for a second, and was able to stand within a few moments. He was all right.

Nick, Angel, and Kip arrived at the storage area, and the guard on duty confronted them immediately. Nick interrupted him and thrust Angel out towards him, "Can you hold her up for just a second please?" The guard instinctively caught Angel as she stumbled onto him, but then Nick took advantage and knocked the guard in the face, then caught Angel again before she fell to the floor. Jay snickered while watching. As Nick had predicted, the cubes they were looking for were there. He took his own and handed Angel hers. Angel was able to stand a little better now, and could almost support herself, but still needed some help to stand.

Fletch contacted them again, "OK, make your way to the security station now. We'll figure out what to do from there."

As soon as he was done talking, the security monitors, the other electronics in the room, and the overhead lights went out. The power to the security wing had been cut. Fletch radioed again, "Scratch that. Our location here is compromised. Hold your location, we'll come to you."

The only light source was the dim blue emergency lights near the floor, but it was enough to illuminate the guards who had come to the door, cubes ready for battle. And all Jay could say was, "Not good."


	36. Chapter 36: Battle for the Security Room

Chapter 36: Battle for the Security Room

Fletch took out his Robo cube and readied for battle. "Jay, can you fight?"

Jay shook his head. "My cube was damaged when I was beaten. These are real fights, so the safety switches are off. Make sure you do the same." Fletch nodded and made sure his was off too. Jay added, "Oh, and remember that Robos take damage a lot faster without the protection of the safety switch." Fletch nodded again, then approached the guards at the door. There were two of them.

Fletch activated his cube with his right hand, his left remaining limp as they entered their battle. The holoseum was a decent size, resembling a metal room similar to some unauthorized laboratory. A holoseum like this could not be generated from anyone who spent their entire life doing anything legal. The center of the room was void of obstacles, and short, fixed walls separated the center from the outside edge of the holoseum, which was sloppily decorated with scraps of metal and breakable cylindrical tanks of green liquid. There was a bright light with just a hint of green being generated from an unknown source.

Fletch immediately used his mind to access his Robo's inventory. He still didn't have many weapons. Before he could even access one of the weapon subcategories to make a selection, he noticed one of the guard's cubes activate into a dark blue Javelin model Strike Vanisher. He had unrecognizable weapons equipped, and Fletch realized at the last second that he had spent too long thinking. Still not armed, Fletch ducked and rolled forward under a fast-moving bomb that the Javelin guard had fired. The Javelin stepped back and with his gun hand pointed his primary weapon to fire at Fletch, but Fletch was too quick and pounced forward off his legs, slamming into the Javelin and knocking him backwards over a wall. Fletch heard the other guard's cube activate, and jumped over the wall himself just in time to avoid taking shots from what sounded like the same rapidfire of a Gatling weapon, but rather than stopping at a burst of 12 shots, it continued firing potentially endlessly. It was obviously illegally crafted. He had caught a glimpse of the other guard, and saw that he was using a red Criminal model Trick Flyer Robo.

The Criminal did not stop firing, so Fletch reacted and took advantage of the moment. Grabbing the still downed Javelin, he stood up and used him as a shield. Each rapidfire shot from the Criminal pierced the metal of the Javelin's armor, leaving jagged-edged punctures in it, and soon disabled him from the fight. The Criminal stopped firing, realizing what he had done, and fired a purple, slightly arching bomb at Fletch. Fletch threw the destroyed Javelin corpse aside, where it blew up in a large blue fireball, and ducked back behind the wall. The bomb destroyed a tank of liquid on the wall behind him, and though it had no effect on the ground of the holoseum, the liquid did vaporize several scraps of metal that were lying on the ground.

Not waiting for the acid to get to him, Fletch stood and dashed along the outer edge of the holoseum. The Criminal resumed firing his rapidfire weapon after Fletch, who was able to keep just ahead of it. He rerouted his spare energy to his legs to keep him moving quickly. Acid tanks were destroyed behind him as he opened his weapon list. He was surprised to see that he had not gained the weapons from the Javelin that had been destroyed. He only had his standard weapons, which could not stand up to the illegal weapons that the Criminal was using. Fletch used a voice command to himself, not heard throughout the holoseum to activate the equip control, "Standard Bomb!" The bomb equipped to his left hand as Fletch jumped to cut a corner and dodge another bomb shot at him, then Fletch fired his own bomb at the stationary Criminal just before landing and rolling to a crouch behind a wall again.

To dodge the bomb, the Criminal jumped very high and cleared the distance between him and the wall Fletch was behind, firing his pods forward and over the wall. They were round and brilliantly bright. Fletch dove over the wall towards the center of the room, but under the Criminal to avoid the pods. The Criminal landed on the top edge of the wall. The pods followed Fletch by going around the wall and towards him. "Basic!" Fletch equipped the standard gun that he had. He used his bomb to take out one pod and his gun to detonate the other. The Criminal turned around on top of the wall and aimed his rapidfire weapon at Fletch to fire.

Fletch acted quickly and used the one weapon he had outside of the standard set. "Motor Pod!" The Motorcycle-like pod appeared on his back and deployed over his shoulder. Fletch held it in front of him as the Criminal started firing again, and it blocked the shots. Fletch revved up the pod and then let it go. It flew forward and the Criminal jumped to avoid it. Fletch was already one step ahead and had fired a bomb long before the Criminal jumped. The weak, Standard bomb threw the Criminal directly downwards, and back into the path of the Motor Pod. The pod hit the Criminal and the short wall in a wheelie, which made it flip over the wall and crashed, with the Criminal, into a tank of acid that was still intact. The liquid quickly ate through the Motor Pod and the Criminal's outer armor. The inner mechanics of the Criminal Robo were not affected by the acid, but exploded in a red flame when its armor was completely dissolved. Fletch unequipped his weapons, and the fight was over.

Fletch returned to the real world and the two guards in front of him fell onto their backs, unconscious. Fletch panted once and looked at Jay, "Know any reason why I didn't acquire the weapons from the first Robo I killed in there? I thought my chip was supposed to do that."

Jay replied, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you didn't kill it, the other Robo did."

"Oh, right."

Fletch picked up his radio, "Nick, what's your status?" He waited a few moments, but there was no response. "Nick, talk to me!" Still nothing. He looked over at Jay, who seemed to be in a trance. "Jay, what's going on down there?"

Jay stayed quiet for a few seconds, then looked back at him, almost petrified. "Kip…. She's screaming…."


	37. Chapter 37: Regroup and Escape

Chapter 37: Regroup and Escape

No words were said, they both knew they needed to get down there at once. Jay grabbed a flashlight, and they left the security station behind, taking the quickest way down the halls to the Dormitory Storage area. Jay gave some instruction on which path to take to avoid any guards. When they got to that side of the facility, it turned out that the power had been cut there as well. There were no lights on in the dormitory area except the faint blue emergency lights that lined the floor. "Jay, I don't hear her," Fletch said.

"Shh! ….. They're still around," Jay said.

"Who?"

"Shh!"

Fletch stopped talking and followed Jay in the darkness.

They arrived at the storage room, which was only faintly lit.

Through the darkness, they heard quiet breathing that was rapid and panicky, and from the tone was distinguishably Kip's. Jay turned the flashlight on. Fletch hurried over to where it was coming from and found her sitting down in a corner, hugging her knees. "Kip!"

Kip wasn't able to talk, she was so scared. He put his good arm around her and helped her up. She curled her arms up between them as he held her. Fletch could tell she was crying softly, and she was trembling like crazy.

They heard movement somewhere else and Jay turned the flashlight to it, where they saw Nick getting up off the floor, seemingly unhurt, though barely conscious. Jay came over to help him up, "Are you ok, Nick?"

Nick groaned, "I am…. I don't know about Angel though. She's not breathing." Jay shone the flashlight at the floor where Angel was lying, her long purple hair partially covering her face.

Jay did not need long to make an examination of her mind. It was clear to him right away. "She's gone."

Fletch looked over. "Gone? How do you know she's not just knocked out or in a coma or something?"

"Fletch, I've read all sorts of minds before. Her mind isn't just blank, it's completely gone, which means it cannot come back."

Fletch gave a despairing sigh and shut his eyes, holding Kip securely and glad that at least she was safe. He looked back at Nick, "Nick, what happened?"

Nick shook his head, "I don't know exactly, but from my perspective, it went like this:"

The lights suddenly went out in the room and blue emergency lights turned on near the floor. Fletch radioed to Nick, "Scratch that. Our location here is compromised. Hold your location, we'll come to you."

Before Nick had time to radio back, four unrecognizable figures appeared through the doorway, coming towards the three of them. Nick, Angel, and Kip took out their Robo cubes to fight, but only one of the three figures jumped in front to combat them. Nick initiated the battle and opened up the holoseum for them, selecting his double stun guns as usual, but when the cubes activated in the holoseum, it was just the two of them. Angel and Kip had not gotten in for some reason. Nick jumped a barrier to attack the other Robo but suddenly the entire holoseum deactivated and they were both returned to the conscious world. Nick felt dizzy, and as the darkened room reappeared to him, one of the other figures took something away from near Nick's head that it had been holding there for a few seconds, and then Nick fell backward. He was not knocked out or anything, and could still think, see, and breathe, but he was dizzy and pretended to be unconscious so they would not pay any more attention to him. He held his breath on an exhale, only breathed softly, and remained motionless.

The next thing he heard was someone else hitting the ground next to him. He opened one eye a little and saw that it was Angel. Kip had shrank away and was sitting in the corner, her eyes shut, covering her ears and screaming loudly. Three of the figures left immediately, and the last one just took a glance at Kip before leaving, not seeming to care about her.

It had all happened so fast that Nick had a hard time conveying the true feeling of the scenario to Fletch, but he had explained it to the best of his ability.

"Nick, the Robo you fought for a brief second. What model was it?"

"Uhh…. I think it was a Seal Head. Yeah, a sandy tan Seal Head."

"Tyler," Fletch declared. "Jay, what do you think happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but from what Nick said, they took Angel down too fast to have killed her in a Robo battle. My guess is that they found some way to copy Nick's power and hacked into her mind, where they destroyed it, just like Tyson said."

"That probably means that Strike was the one who did it. He found a way to copy Nick's power, then used it to obtain Angel's, killing her in the process." Fletch looked sorrowfully down at Angel's body one more time, but knew they could not stay there. "Jay, we need to get out of this facility. We're in danger while we're still here."

"The whole place is on lockdown. There is no exit."

"Jay, if we can't find an exit we'll have to make one. I can't express how imperative it is that we get out of here."

Nick volunteered his thoughts, still groggy "Could the scientists here help us maybe? Since the lockdown took effect, I haven't seen them anywhere, so they're probably being held somewhere."

Fletch said, "Freeing the scientists would draw the entire guarding staff of the facility to us. The last thing we want is to attract attention, and we've wasted enough time here. If we're going to discuss this further, let's do it on the move. Jay, where is the wall of the dome thinnest?"

"…. Thinnest?"

"Did I stutter? Let's go." They all started walking down the darkened hallway, Jay in the lead since he could see everything that was ahead of them and kept their path clear of encounters.

Jay said as they walked, "The thinnest place in the wall would be the door to the train access, but even that is several inches thick of metal."

"It's all we've got. Let's go!" Their pace quickened as they made their way through the darkness. Kip was still trembling and not saying anything, and Nick stumbled every now and then with dizziness from what had happened earlier. Jay led them around any guards that were looking for them, and they finally came to the reception wing of the dome where the lights had not gone out yet. They passed through the room where the tournament had been held earlier, and made it to the main entrance where the train tunnel made contact with the dome.

The tunnel was sealed off with a heavy-looking metal door, but that wasn't the only thing in their way, nor was it their primary concern. Three R-Members that had once been considered friendly were between them and the sealed tunnel: Ray, Tyson, and Tyler, all of whom had their arms folded as if they had been waiting.


	38. Chapter 38: Epic Battle Part I

Chapter 38: Epic Battle (Part I)

(This is a fight I've been planning on and setting up since the beginning. It's too long to contain in one chapter, but I originally wrote it as one, so there is no end of one then beginning of another. The first flows right into the second without a break)

Fletch, Nick, Kip, and Jay stopped. The longer they stayed in that dome, the more danger they were in. Ray, Tyson, and Tyler didn't say a word, for they knew this as well and would do everything in their power to keep them there. Silence was just another way to add time to their stay. Fletch took a step forward from his group, "You are between us and our way out. Stand aside."

Tyson took a step in front of his group, "Or you'll do what?"

Fletch clenched his fist on his good arm, "We'll crush you."

"In a Robo battle? I doubt that."

"We have you outnumbered four to three."

Jay's voice came into Fletch's head, "Fletch, you're the only one in our group that is in any condition to fight." Fletch looked over his shoulder and saw that Jay had his right hand on Kip's shoulder, combining her power with his to communicate. "My Robo is too damaged to use, Kip is in shock, and Nick is barely conscious. His mind could not withstand a Robo battle, so you're the only one who can fight."

Tyson smirked, "And even if you do beat us, you have a heavy metal door in your way, and I'm guessing you still haven't thought up a way to get by THAT."

Fletch looked back at him, "As a matter of fact, it just came to me."

Tyson's smirk remained, "As if it matters. You're not going to get past us."

Fletch looked side to side at Ray, then at Tyler on either side of Tyson, then reached to his belt quickly, took out his Robo cube and activated it at Tyson. Fletch's three opponents had their own out and ready at almost the exact same time. The world around them faded to white rather quickly, almost like a flash, and they entered Tyson's holoseum.

They all started in cube form, spinning through the air towards the ground where they would be fighting. Fletch quickly selected his weapons, choosing the only weapons available that were not standard: the ones used by the guard he had taken out earlier. They were listed and described for him in his Robo's computer:

Streamshot (Gun): Rapidly fires quick needle-like shots that pierce armor. Capable of unlimited consecutive rounds. Ground movement disabled when firing. Fusion of Gatling and Blade guns.

Stun (Bomb): Does little damage, but disables opponent for a short time, knocks target upward, and leaves a large amount of smoke. Semi-automatic firing, bombs fly straight. Fusion of Acrobat and Straight T bombs.

Neutron Flare (Pod): Fires two bright pods that deal large amounts of damage and seek to the target quickly. Short life span requires close range use. Fusion of Speed P and Caboose T pods.

All of these weapons were listed as fusions. Fletch had never heard of this before, but he had seen these weapons in action and knew their capabilities. They were his only options, so he equipped them as the cubes fell towards the holoseum. It was a large, gold colored cluster of structure-like pillars with green cybernetic wiring visibly running underneath the surface. The cluster was relatively large, and the air space around it was gigantic. The cluster itself was on top of an enormous pyramid that was dark green. It was more like they were in an open air battlefield city rather than an enclosed arena.

Fletch's cube landed in an open area in the middle of the holoseum and deployed on impact. Tyson, Ray, and Tyler deployed side by side on top of a wide pillar about half the size of the surrounding ones.

Fletch had not seen Tyson's Robo before, but knew it was him. He was using a Rakansen, an illegal type Strike Vanisher model that was black with red flames painted on it. Tyler was on Tyson's left, sporting his usual Seal Head Robo, but he had larger weapons than when Fletch had initially fought him in the tournament and, like most of the weapons he had seen the R members use, he could not tell what they were. Ray was on Tyson's right, using a green Metal Ape Robo and particularly small guns considering the size of his Robo.

Tyson held out his right arm, pointing it in Fletch's direction. Ray and Tyler hopped down from the structure they were on and ran towards either side of Fletch at a diagonal to flank him. Fletch decided to use their division to his advantage. Being divided in this big of a holoseum, they would not be able to come to each other's aid very quickly. He turned his attention first to the direction that Tyler had split off, took a quick analysis of the structure arrangement on that side, and dashed off in that direction.

He ran alongside a wall towards one that would be a barrier between himself and Tyler. He was running perpendicular to Tyler's direction and would be crossing his path, though still a good distance in front of him. Tyler jumped up, then air jumped several times before firing his weapon at Fletch, and for good reason. Had he fired it from the ground, he would have been caught in an explosion. It fired what looked like a spread-missile attack, launching no fewer than 8 projectiles in Fletch's direction that trailed orange smoke. They flew at him fast, but had limited homing ability. One hit in front of him, one behind, one barely missed and hit the wall next t him, and Fletch actually had to jump to avoid the explosion from another, but then he made it behind the wall he was running for and it shielded Fletch from the rest of them.

Fletch kept running, and jumped forward and up where there was a gap in the wall. He turned in midair and started firing his Streamshot gun at Tyler. Tyler was still hovering in the air, and used sideways air jumps to avoid the shots, much as Fletch tried to follow him with them. Tyler used these jumps to move towards the far end of the wall that Fletch was using for protection. Fletch saw where he was headed, and fired a Stun Bomb in front of him, and just after Tyler appeared around the corner, the bomb blew up, sending Tyler straight up, stunned. Fletch set his legs to hover while maintaining his forward motion in the air, turned himself upside down, and fired his Streamshot needler up as he passed under Tyler. Every shot hit, putting jagged pierce marks in Tyler's armor, and before Fletch had even landed, Tyler's Robo had blown up in a large tan cloud of smoke and debris high off the ground. Fletch flipped over and landed solidly on his feet. He turned to his left and went back towards the open area where they had all started.


	39. Chapter 39: Epic Battle Part II

Chapter 39: Epic Battle (Part II)

Tyson was still in his original position on top of the wide structure, his arms folded. Fletch stopped where he was and started firing his Streamshot weapon at him. Tyson, keeping his arms folded, used his vanish ability to move aside in the air. Fletch's shots only hit Tyson's afterimage. Fletch swept sideways with his weapon to try and catch Tyson, but he just kept vanishing and reappearing sideways, dodging the shots. Fletch did the same thing he did against Tyler and fired a bomb in Tyson's path. It seemed to be a direct hit. There was a brief pause as Tyson was engulfed in thick, grey smoke.

Fletch was about to fire his gun into the smoke, but before he could, Tyson appeared again, jumping very high and out of the smoke, his own gun pointed at Fletch. He fired it and what appeared to be a large, purple dragon head came roaring at Fletch. Fletch dove to the side, out of the way, in between two long walls that formed a sort of alley. He rolled to a kneeling position, his metal knees creating a few small sparks as he skidded for a few feet as the dragon shot streaked across the ground where he had been, leaving a wall of smoke behind it. Fletch looked back in that direction for a few seconds, catching his breath, making sure Tyson wasn't following him.

He didn't have long to wait before he heard a loud blasting shot from the other end of the alley, the direction he was not looking. He only needed a quick glance to see a large green energy blast coming towards him. He jumped up and towards one of the walls, and the shot missed him. He saw at the other end of the alley Ray's green Metal Ape Robo firing at him. Ray fired again, and Fletch jumped off the wall to the other side of the alley. Ray kept firing over and over, not moving, and Fletch kept hopping back and forth between walls, advancing towards Ray with each jump until he jumped straight at him and landed right in front of him.

Time seemed to slow down as Fletch looked down the barrel of Ray's gun, which was pointed directly at him. Fletch's momentum was still pushing him forward, so as Ray fired another shot, Fletch turned sideways and put his hands on the ground, brought his feet up above him, and pushed off with his arms. He was just a little late, and Ray's shot did hit the Streamshot gun out of Fletch's hand. Fletch managed to avoid taking any damage, but lost his gun. He was now in the air, upside down, flying over Ray. He opened up his pod launcher on his back, took aim instantly, and fired off two Neutron Flare pods. The two balls of energy homed in directly at Ray, and eliminated him from the fight in a large, cloudy, green explosion. Fletch's right hand was unequipped now, so he quickly accessed his Robo's inventory to get a new weapon. He saw that Ray's weapon had just registered:

Plasma Blast (Gun/Bomb): Fires a single quick and powerful blast of energy. Heavy kickback prevents effective repeat firing. Clicking the trigger fires it as a gun, holding it down charges it and fires as a bomb. Fusion of Splash (Gun) and Straight T (Bomb).

It was another fusion. But this one combined a gun and a bomb together. Fletch was puzzled, but selected it anyway. The weapon appeared in his right hand as he landed. He turned and saw he was out of the alley and in another open area, and Tyson was across from him, arms folded, staring at him.

The faced off for only a brief moment. They dashed at each other at the same time, then when they got close, both quickly changed direction and dashed to their own right, away from each other again, but still facing each other. Moving sideways, Tyson fired his gun. Rather than one dragon this time, four came at fletch, all side by side in a horizontal formation. This attack would have taken out anyone in a wide range on the ground, but Fletch was able to dodge it by jumping. All four purple dragons hit the base of the wall behind him.

While moving sideways in the air, Fletch charged up his new Plasma Blast gun, and fired it at Tyson. It missed him just a little, and Fletch saw Tyson running away from the explosion. Still in the air, Fletch fired his Stun bomb four times near Tyson. Two of them hit in his path. He turned around and the other two hit in front of him again in his new path before he could even move very far, surrounding him with smoke.

Tyson looked back and forth to see that he was completely engulfed, then looked up, expecting Fletch to attack from that direction, being the only way that Fletch would be able to see him for an attack. Instead, Fletch appeared through the cloud, on the ground, sliding into a kneeling position, his Plasma Blast gun up and pointed. Tyson quickly pointed his own gun at Fletch as he came to a stop.

Time seemed to stand still for both of them. The stillness felt like it lasted for at least 5 seconds as they pointed their guns at each other. One would have guessed that they both hesitated, but in actuality, Fletch had already begun to pull the trigger before Tyson had even started pointing his gun. Tyson's Robo flew back with a large hole blasted completely through it. It exploded in a big black cloud before everything whited out and disappeared, bringing Fletch back to his conscious mind.

Fletch lowered his good arm as he saw Tyler, Ray, and Tyson fall on their backs violently, unconscious. One obstacle was out of the way, but they still weren't out of the facility.


	40. Chapter 40: Strike

Chapter 40: Strike

Fletch turned around where the other three were waiting. Jay, of course, had seen the whole thing and was amazed. "Wow, that was…. How did you….? Wow." He couldn't even finish his sentences for lack of ability to find the right words.

"We're not out yet. Any ideas on how we're going to get past that door?" Nick asked, looking over the impressively sturdy metal door that remained in their path. Fletch smirked and nodded. An idea had just come to him.

"Jay, how flexible is your ability to channel other people's powers?"

Jay looked confused, "Channel?"

"Yeah, you can channel Kip's power through yours to combine them. Could you do the same with others?"

Jay shrugged, "I might. Never tried it."

"Well now is as good a time as any. Nick, we need you, too."

Nick looked between the two of them, "Me? ….. ok…." Nick walked over to the door with them. "What are we going to do?"

Fletch explained his plan, "Tyson said that your power gives you the ability to hack your Robo into things that don't even have holoseums. Jay will channel your power through me into this door, and I'll use my Robo's added strength to break it open. I'm just hoping all our powers are flexible enough to accomplish this."

A powerful, deep voice from behind them interrupted, "Not that it matters. You won't get far." They all turned to see a muscular man wearing a dark navy-blue suit with lighter blue stripes and a yellow R over his heart. He was escorted by two security guards that were presumably R members under cover.

"Who are you?" Nick demanded.

The man smirked and answered, "I need not give my name to a corpse."

Fletch reached for his Robo cube, but then noticed the red wristband that the man was wearing. He and Jay both said at the same time, "He's Strike."

"Strike? The one that stole the Ultimatum?" Nick said.

Strike nodded and pulled out his Robo cube as a challenge. Fletch unclipped his own, but then heard Jay's voice in his head, "Fletch, don't do it." Fletch looked over at Jay, who had his hand on Kip's shoulder. "He wants you to fight him. He has a superior Robo, better weapons, and more experience and he knows it. I can see it in his mind."

Fletch thought for Jay to read, "I'm going to have to fight him eventually, why not now?"

"Because right now, you're on your own. There will be another time. You'll have help later and you shouldn't fight him alone."

"Well if I don't fight him now, how are we going to be able to get away?"

As if to answer, the three Darclaw commanders, Ronnie, Wade, and Otto ran in and faced Strike, putting themselves between him and Fletch's group. Fletch was about to say something, but Ronnie looked over his shoulder at him and said, "Get them out of here Fletch! We'll keep him busy!"

Strike said, "Heh. Keep me busy? You're a distraction, nothing less."

Jay, his hand still on Kip's shoulder, said to Ronnie's mind, "Ronnie, his Robo is too strong. If you get in a fight with him, he'll kill you all."

Ronnie thought back, knowing Jay could hear him, "If we don't fight him, you can't escape, and he can kill anyone he wants. We have to do everything we can to keep him from gaining complete control."

Then suddenly, there was a pang in Fletch's mind. It was like everything flashed white very quickly, and he felt a slight dizziness. It was like that feeling you get when you stand up too fast just after waking up and everything blacks out for a second, but it was more powerful than that. Fletch fell to his knees, catching himself with his good hand as his mind cleared. When he looked up, someone else was in the room. Someone who couldn't possibly be there. "…….. Angel?"

Angel was standing in front of him, there was no doubt about it. He recognized her hair, her scientist clothes, everything. It was her. Fletch looked at his companions, but they weren't moving. They were still. He looked at Ronnie, he and Strike were still staring each other down, but everything was frozen. Even the distant hum of machinery was gone. "Angel, you……" He couldn't find the words. The last time he had seen her, she was dead. Jay had confirmed it, her mind was blank. She had been killed by Strike after he had copied Nick's power and used it on her mind. How could she still be alive?

She spoke, and he even recognized her voice, but she sounded like she was straining to talk, "Fletch, I can't hold everything still like this for long so just listen. I can keep Strike distracted to allow all of you to escape. I can't show myself to everyone, so you have to be the one to get everyone out. Ronnie doesn't have to fi- Aah!" Angel fell to her knees.

"Angel!" Fletch extended his good arm to help her, but it passed right through her, then she disappeared. Everything came back to life and time resumed its flow. Right as Ronnie reached for his Robo cube, Strike and both of his henchmen grabbed their heads and fell to their knees in crying out in agony. Ronnie was taken aback and didn't know what was going on. There wasn't time to explain what was going on, so Fletch just said, "Ronnie, you three don't have to fight him, let's go! Jay, channel our powers!" and put his good hand against the large metal door.

Jay scanned Fletch's mind quickly to try and find an explanation, but there was too much confusion in Fletch's through processes to make any sense of it. Jay put one hand on Fletch's shoulder, the other on Nick's. "Hang on!" Jay closed his eyes to activate their chain of powers as one.

Fletch felt like he had been stabbed somewhere, but without the pain. The jolt blurred his vision, made him dizzy, then everything darkened and a veil of black blocked his vision. He felt a surreal sensation of falling blindly, but still felt the floor beneath his feet. That didn't last long though, as he soon lost all physical sense. The door under his hand, the floor, the temperature of the air, and Jay's hand on his shoulder all seemed to vanish, though he couldn't look around to see. But a vigorous, mechanical falling sensation remained. Like an unlit elevator that just got dropped, Fletch felt like he was rumbling as he fell, and he expected to land with a violent crash at any second.


	41. Chapter 41: Breakout

Chapter 41: Breakout

As soon as Jay closed his eyes, fused their powers, and attempted to hack Fletch's mind into the large metallic barrier, a blinding light shone from the very center of the door. Everyone averted their gaze, and when they looked back up, the door was ripped open in the center, and Fletch had fallen to the ground. Everyone was silent, except for Strike and his two lackeys, who were still on their knees straining against something in their heads.

Nobody else was saying anything, though Fletch would have if he had been conscious, so Jay said it for him. "Let's go! Ronnie, you too, come on!" Hesitantly, Ronnie backed away from Strike and signaled to Wade and Otto to leave as well. Kip and Nick were the first to go through. Jay tried to move Fletch, but he wasn't strong enough to carry him by himself.

Wade came over to where Fletch lay and picked him up in a fireman's carry without help, saying "I can carry him, let's go!" He and Otto went through the opening just as Strike started to get ahold of himself and stand up, still struggling.

Ronnie was about to go through the door, but Jay stopped him, "Ronnie, wait!" He put his hand on Ronnie's shoulder, then held his hand up, his palm out towards Strike and his fingers bent very slightly. Strike grunted again and fell back to his knees. Jay was channeling Ronnie's power through the real world into Strike to weaken him. He took his hand off Ronnie, who then exited. Jay took a scan of Strike's mind and exited the facility himself.

Nick had already started up the underground train. Jay boarded the ramp just behind Ronnie, and the train began to move away from the facility through the tunnel. Jay and Ronnie watched as it disappeared behind them as they got farther away, just to make sure they were really away. Jay then turned to enter the interior of the vehicle, giving Ronnie a nod as he turned.

Wade had lay Fletch on the floor, where Kip was trying to revive him. She looked up at Jay "Is he ok, Jay?" Jay quickly read Fletch's mind, and could tell that he was still alive, and his thoughts were beginning to return.

"He's going to be fine."

Wade signaled to Otto, "Otto, come do your thing." The small commander nodded and knelt down next to Fletch. He passed his hand over him, and Fletch woke up very suddenly. Otto nodded and backed up. Fletch tried to sit up, but a sudden rush of pain to his head stopped him and he stayed where he was. "Easy, Fletch. Just stay still. Otto can revive the mind, but not completely recover it. That will take a few minutes."

Fletch asked with a grunt, "What happened?"

Everyone looked at Jay. Jay looked from one person to another before realizing that all eyes were on him. "What? I'm supposed to know everything?" Nobody answered, except for a nod from Kip, so he sighed, "All right, all right. I guess your idea worked, Fletch, but whatever you did when we hacked you in, it was instantaneous from our point of view. Thankfully you came out just fine."

"What happened with Strike, though? What happened that allowed us to escape?"

"I read his mind just before we left. Apparently the whole idea of acquiring other people's powers had not worked out exactly like he had planned. He had expected Angel to die and her power to pass on to him, but instead Angel's mind became a part of his, still whole, still herself, and still able to use her power. So Angel is still alive, but her mind exists only in him. She was disrupting his mind as much as she could, and hallucinating the other men that were with Strike, which gave us our opening to escape.

"Also, it turns out he didn't need her for her hallucination ability after all. He needed her ability to concentrate. That's the factor that she plays in his formula for mind control. He needs her to be the one to use all the powers he plans on acquiring. I seriously doubt it will work out for him because he has to get all of the acquired minds to work together and cooperate with him."

Fletch said back, "So even if he acquired all the powers he needs, he won't be able to control them?"

Jay answered, "Well, that's not to say that he won't eventually gain control over the minds of the people in his head. That is still a possibility, but it won't happen any time soon."

Fletch was able to sit up. "Nick, where are we headed?"

Nick looked back at them, "I'm taking us to Police Headquarters."

Ronnie entered the vehicle just in time to hear that, "No, we can't go there. Nobody there knows what we know, and for all we know, Strike's faction could have already contacted the police and turned in our names as criminals."

Nick protested, "Look, I can't really think of anywhere better we can go. We can tell them everything that happened, and they can help."

"Nick, Ronnie's right," Jay said. "The R-Syndicate has too much of an influence on society. There are not many people we can trust."

Nick turned completely to face them, "Then where can we go?" not expecting a realistic answer."

Ronnie was ready with an answer, "Apollo."

Nick wasn't familiar with the name, but Kip recognized it. "Apollo? The Robo dealer?" Ronnie nodded.

Nick threw his hands into the air, "What good is that going to do us?"

"Look, you've all entered into the middle of a war. It's too late to withdraw from it, and you have to pick a side: Ours or theirs. If you try to be on your own side, you're dead. If you join their side, you're dead, which I'm sure you already know. So you either trust me, or you may as well turn this train back to the Science Dome, because every other option leads to the same end you'll meet there."

Everyone was quiet as Ronnie waited for a response. Fletch was the first one to speak up, "We'll go with you, Ronnie. Right now there's nobody else we can trust, and since you were prepared to give your life to stop Strike from gaining power, I feel safe assuming you are on our side."

Ronnie took the train controls from Nick, "I'm not on your side. You're on mine."

Fletch shrugged, "We'll call it that then."

As the train sped down the tunnel, Jay put his hand on Kip's shoulder to initiate a mental conversation with Fletch, who had sat against the side of the vehicle. "Strike has already gotten to three of his four targets. I'm the only one left. If he gets me, I don't know how long I can keep control over my own mind inside his."

Fletch nodded silently, then realized what Jay had said, "Wait, three of four? Tyson told us there were just three. You, Nick, and Angel."

Jay replied, "Come on, I know you've thought about it as much as I have. Taking someone's thoughts out of someone's head and replacing it with illusions is not enough to control them. There was one other target that Tyson had not told us about."

"Why not?"

"He didn't know, himself."

* * *

At the Science Dome, Angel's disruption of Strike's mind had stopped. Strike stood in front of the large, ripped-open door, very frustrated with the presence in his mind that he had not anticipated. No matter, though. Angel's mind would submit to his in time. Then she would truly cease to exist and would no longer be a bother to him.

Ray, Tyson, and Tyler had started to wake up after their earlier defeat. Strike, none too happy, walked over to them. Tyson looked at the gash in the door, then up at him, "Lord Strike, forgive me, they escaped!"

Strike looked at the door with the gash in it, muttering, "Yes, I can see that. But you are forgiven, Slash."

"Thank you, sir!"

Strike looked sternly down at him, "I have no more use for you anyway, so I thought we should end on a good note."

Tyson went wide-eyed in fear, "B-but….. sir, I've only ever served you loyally."

"That you have. And I need only one more thing from you."

Tyson gulped, "My……….?"

Strike nodded, "Did you really think I could manage mind control without the ability to put new thoughts into a mind?"

Tyson was stricken with horror and unable to move as Strike moved his hand towards Tyson's head. All he could manage was a "NOOOOO!" which was decidedly not meant as an answer to the question.


	42. Chapter 42: A Moment's Safety

Chapter 42: A Moment's Safety

Fletch waited to say something until they had arrived at the Ray Robos Production Headquarters and had disembarked from the train. Everything was dark in the dome city as a simulated nightfall. As soon as Apollo's small shop was in view, Fletch got Ronnie's attention. "Are you sure about Apollo? He was friendly with Tyson earlier when we came here. I think they may be acquainted in some way."

Ronnie said reassuringly, "Don't worry, he is trustworthy. I'll let him explain it." Fletch wasn't sure about this, but went along. The shop was closed, but Ronnie pushed an intercom button on the outside and spoke into it, "Apollo, it's Ronnie."

The intercom was silent for a few seconds, then a voice came, "Sorry, repeat?"

"It's Ronnie, open up."

Another pause, then the intercom responded, "Voice recognition confirmed. Come on in." The door clicked, Ronnie pushed it open, and the seven commanders entered the darkened shop. When the door closed behind them, it locked itself again. From behind the checkout desk on the far wall, the door labeled "Workshop" opened and Apollo came out to greet them.

Apollo had expected Ronnie, Wade, and Otto, but wasn't quite anticipating the other four. Regardless, he remained expressionless and asked Fletch, "Switched sides?"

Ronnie answered for Fletch, "Yes, Fletch is with us now. Before we go any further though, I think he would like to understand your position between the two factions of the R-Syndicate, just to avoid confusion." Fletch nodded in agreement.

Apollo nodded back and turned on a dim light so they were not all standing in the dark. He began his explanation, "I guess the simplest way to put it is to say I'm a double agent. I provide assistance to both the Loyalists and the original syndicate, but I do not betray information to either side. I am a helper to both sides and a traitor to neither."

Ronnie interjected with a brief supplement, "Our side is the Loyalists, Strike's side calls itself the original syndicate since they are the larger group, consisting of most of the original members."

Fletch asked, "Why take such a position between the factions?"

Apollo said, "I was the only public face of the syndicate before the split. Everyone knows where to find me, so wouldn't you agree that it's in my best interest to stay on good terms with both sides?"

Fletch nodded, "Yes, I would. Good point. So what do you do for the… Loyalists?"

"I am the gatekeeper to their primary base, I believe is the correct way to word it. Their headquarters is hidden under this shop, and I am the one who facilitates the entrance."

"What about the Original Syndicate? What do you do for them?"

Apollo held up a finger, "Ah, but you see, you have affiliated yourself with the Loyalists, therefore I am not at liberty to say. That would be betrayal of information. I guess this whole thing makes me a coward, but I do whatever it takes to stay alive."

Fletch looked at Ronnie, who shrugged and said, "It's his policy, and we all respect it. But listen, if you fall out of good standing with anyone and you have nobody else to trust, come to Apollo. He will help anyone. He understands the concept of strategic survival," Then looking at Apollo, "I think that's enough, Apollo. We'll take them on down and show them around."

Apollo nodded respectfully and punched in a code in his keypad behind the counter, just like he had done when retrieving Tyson's Robo earlier that day. They all heard the sound of mechanical movement behind the workshop door, and when it had stopped, Apollo opened it. Instead of a workshop behind the door, there was a descending staircase. Ronnie gave a hand signal to follow and went around the counter to the door. Fletch, Kip, Jay, and Nick followed behind him, then Otto and Wade.

"I must apologize, our hideout is not as impressive of a facility as you might expect," Ronnie said as they descended. Fletch heard a faint misstep directly behind him, and knew what was about to happen. He turned to the side and held out his good arm just in time to catch Kip as she stumbled and fell. Ronnie stopped and turned around. "And do be careful. There are no landings on this stairway, so if you start falling, you won't stop until you hit the bottom," Ronnie said before continuing down the stairs.

"Are you ok?" Fletch asked Kip.

She responded weakly, "I'm fine, thanks Fletch," and got back on her own feet before they continued on.

They finally reached the bottom of the stairs, leading to a small, dimly lit hallway. The ceiling and walls were a dark shade of teal painted on metal. The dark-grey metal underneath was showing in a few places where the paint had rubbed off. The floor was the same metal, but completely unpainted. The lights were very dim, coming from long, narrow light strips just below where the walls met the ceiling. Before they continued on, Ronnie said without turning around, "My lieutenants should still be awake and working for a few more hours, so you'll have time to meet them and see what they do for us."

Kip lost her balance again and fell backwards into Jay, who was taken by surprise and in turn had to be caught by Nick. Fletch understood what was going on and addressed Ronnie. "Ronnie, the introductions and a tour will have to wait until tomorrow. We've been Robo battling and experiencing all kinds of mental trauma for most of the day. I'm worn out, Kip can barely stand, Jay has a disabled Robo, and Nick…"

Nick nodded while helping Jay and Kip to stand back up, "I'm exhausted too."

Fletch nodded. "We all need some rest. As long as we're safe here, we're in no hurry. There's nothing more we can do tonight, so can you please show us where we may lie down for the night?"

Ronnie understood and nodded. "Very well. Wade, check up on all stations. Make sure everyone is still working and assist if they need it. Report anything significant. Otto, tell Lyre I need to see her. The rest of you follow me." Ronnie turned to another hallway on the right while Otto and Wade continued forward. Fletch, Kip, Jay, and Nick followed him. The hallway they had turned to had three doors on either side before it dead-ended. "These rooms are all vacant. You can each have one. They will be locked so you will not wander around the facility, and so nobody else may get in. Trust me, it's for your safety. Have a good night."

Fletch was a bit suspicious about being locked in, but felt he could trust Ronnie nonetheless and nodded. He took the first room on the left. Kip and Nick both went to rooms as well, and Ronnie stopped Jay as he passed him. "I can take your Robo cube for repairs, Jay." Jay nodded and handed it over. Ronnie turned and went back down the hall as Jay picked out a room as well.

The doors all locked behind them as they closed, but they all felt safe, for the most part. They had all suffered through a lot in one day, and needed the rest. All of them were relieved for a moment of safety from all the danger that had been exposed to the world that day. They put aside, however, any thoughts that they would have to confront it in the days yet to come and slept well that night.

--End - Custom Robo: Ultimatum--

--Begin - Custom Robo: Vehemence--


	43. Chapter 41 Deleted Scene

Chapter 41: The Door (Deleted Scene)

((This chapter did not seem absolutely necessary to the progression of the story, and upon reading it a day after completing it, it didn't seem very exciting, so I decided to remove it from the story. It takes place in the instance between the current chapters 40 and 41))

Fletch of course, had not even known if any of this would work. He had no way of knowing the outcome of attempting to combine their powers and hack into an object that had no mind, no computer system, and no thought process. For all he knew, he could be dead or something like that. Fortunately his sensation of falling smoothed out into a feeling of floating. He started to regain his vision again. He was looking down and something was coming up at him.

His vision and thought processes were both clearing as the object came closer. By the time he was completely recovered, he could make out that the object was a metallic holoseum, and he was not falling or accelerating, but simply floating down to it. He was able to land with a bend of the knees and a small clank. He looked down at himself, and he was in his Robo, but for some reason it felt different. He couldn't tell what it was, but for some unknown reason, it felt more real. It was a hard feeling to describe. The virtual Robo battles he had fought in before were realistic, but they still had a sense of being digital. Now, though, it felt somehow very, very real.

He had no weapons, but he also had no opponent. The holoseum he had landed in was completely made of a grayish, non-reflecting metal. There were no barriers or obstacles, but the wall he was facing looked identical to the door they were trying to get through. Fletch knew what he had to do and summoned a weapon to his hand. He selected the Plasma Blast gun he had copied from Ray in his last fight, considering it his most powerful weapon.

He pointed it at the door and held down the trigger to charge up a shot as a bomb, then let it fire. The shot made a blinding explosion on impact, but when it cleared, the door was still there, unmarked. Fletch tried again, routing all his excess power through his weapon to make it as powerful as it could be and charged it a bit longer, then let it fire. The explosion was even larger and the resulting shockwave knocked Fletch off his feet. Fletch looked back up at the door as the smoke settled from the explosion, but the door was still untouched as if nothing had even hit it. There weren't even scorch marks.

He got up and walked over to it. He tapped it with his hand, it seemed real enough. Then he heard a scuttling of metal on metal behind him, and judging by the distance, he didn't have time to look. He moved his head to the right just as something large and blunt slammed into the door where his head had been. Fletch, without even looking, positioned his gun upside-down over his right shoulder, pointing back and a little to the left, and fired the powerful gun.

Fletch heard the attacker get hit and back away, so he stood up and turned, equipping his Stun Bomb in his left hand. He could not identify what had attacked him. It was some metallic Robo that did not appear to have any facial features nor equipped weapons. "Who are you?" Fletch asked in a raised voice, which echoed in the holoseum. The opposing Robo did not answer. It only held a defensive position, as if waiting for Fletch to make a move.

He should have expected this. The door wasn't just a hunk of metal, it had a computer system inside it, which included a security program to prevent it from being opened from remote external access. And in this artificial holoseum, that program took the form of an autonomous Robo. So it was not aggressive, it was only defending the door.

Fletch looked at the door, and noticed that it was dented where the security Robo had hit it. So the door could be damaged, and apparently this wasn't a particularly smart program since it had let itself damage the door it was there to protect.

The Robo was still not moving, which provided an easy target for Fletch. He just pointed his Plasma Blast gun, charged it as a bomb, and let it fly at the Robo. The Security Robo made mo move to dodge or block and was struck directly by the blast, but just as a cloud of smoke appeared, the Robo lunged at Fletch, seemingly unscathed. Fletch, surprised as he was, was still controlled by his instinct, and fell backwards, taking his feet off the ground. As the Robo passed over him, he alternated a kick with each of his feet, knocking it away. Fletch landed on his back and rolled over to a prone position, facing the recovering Security Robo, and fired his Stun Bomb at it.

The Security Robo was engulfed in smoke, and Fletch pushed himself up to a standing position again. As the smoke cleared, though, the Security Robo was still exactly where it had been standing, against posing defensively. It had not even been knocked away by the bomb. Fletch concluded that his current weapons were useless, and switched them out. This Robo may not have been very smart or aggressive, but it could sure take a beating.

Fletch equipped the weapon Tyson had used against him: Wyrm, a well-known Illegal weapon. Fletch fired it, releasing multiple energy-based dragon heads that roared as they homed in on the Security Robo. As soon as the first one hit, though, the Robo lunged at Fletch again through all the other shots, but was not moved or even damaged by any of them. Fletch was again surprised, but still able to react. He slammed his left fist straight down on the attacking Robo, then kicked it as it was hit downward. It was knocked back and sprawled a bit, then recovered and took its defensive stance again.

The something occurred to Fletch. His weapons were not damaging it, but his physical attacks were at least moving it. He switched out the Wyrm for his Streamshot, his needler. Maybe this Security Robo was resistant to energy based attacks, but could be damaged by physical strikes. Since the Streamshot was armor-piercing, it would fire physical rounds, rather than energy-based shots.

Fletch fired his weapon at the Robo, and this time, it did not attack when it was hit. Instead, it started writhing. Being a computer program, it was not used to physical attacks, so it was very vulnerable to them. Jagged punctures started appearing in the Robo's armor. Fletch equipped Ray's Plasma Blast gun to his other hand and stopped firing. He moved over to the flailing Robo and held it still with his foot, then put the tip of the Plasma Blast gun into one of the pierces that had been made and fired. The powerful shot fried all of its internal robotics, leaving only the remainder of the outer shell where it was, empty and lifeless.

Having solved the problem of how to defeat this Robo, Fletch now had the solution to breaking the door open. He fired his Streamshot at it, sweeping his aim vertically to cut a slice down the center. Once that was done, he unequipped both of his weapons and approached the door. He put his hands in the punctures, routed his energy to his arms, and pried it open forcefully. As soon as the opening was big enough to enter, everything went blurry and then black, and he entered a state of unconsciousness.


End file.
